Acceptance
by theticktalks
Summary: High school AU. After being accepted into the world's best high school, Iceland and Norway learn that they have to participate in a competition that will change their lives. Iceland X Hong Kong and Denmark X Norway
1. We're Not in Iceland Anymore

**A/N: Hello again! So, if any of you have read my other stories about Iceland X Hong Kong, thanks! But, this story is NOT related. I hope you still like it! I love you for reading this~! ^^ Oh, one more thing. I use country names, just because it annoys me when a country doesn't have a cannon name and people just make up whatever they want. I don't roll like that. XP**  
><strong>-<strong>  
><span><strong>Chapter 1: We're Not in Iceland Anymore<strong>

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

I slapped my hand onto the alarm clock, feeling around for the snooze button. Just as I hit it though, I heard a creak coming from across the room. I reluctantly opened one eye and peered towards my door. Standing in the door frame was my older brother Norway, or Norge as everyone calls him. "Can I help you?" I grumbled. It's way too early for people to be awake. I looked to the window and saw that it was still dark outside. I knew that it was 2:00 AM, but I refused to accept that that was an actual time.

"Get up," Norge said dryly. He then walked over and pried my warm blankets away from me. "We have to catch our flight." He turned around and walked out of my room.

I stood up and a shiver shot up my spine as my feet came in contact with the cold, hardwood, floor. _Why do we have to go to some dumb school in America, anyways? I know that Norge said it was the best high school in the world, but I don't care. I like it here in Iceland, the country that I was named after. Which I still don't get. Why is everyone named after a country? Who decided that?_ I continued to ponder how strange our world's naming system was as I left my room to go to the small bathroom down the hall. It was the end of August, but it was still pretty cool inside our house. _Probably because Norge is so cheap that he refuses to ever turn up the heat._

After I took a quick shower and brushed my teeth, I went into the kitchen. "What's for breakfast?" I asked Norge. He just looked up at me from behind his laptop for a second and glared. _Fine, I'll make my own breakfast._ I grabbed a bowl and poured some cereal and milk into it. I sat down at the table and Norge closed his computer.

"You have to hurry. I know you haven't finished packing, and we _have_ to leave in 10 minutes... And I'm not helping you pack." Norge stood up and left; presumably to get his own luggage, which he had packed two days ago. I swallowed my cereal in three gulps and rushed into my room.

_Why did I not pack last night when Norge told me to? He's always right..._ I suddenly stopped my train of thought. _What am I thinking? Norge is never right._ I knew that my brother was usually right but because he was so overprotective of me, I was extremely rebellious against him. I threw all of my clothes into one suitcase, (wow, I don't own a lot of clothes) and then ran into the bathroom again, this time to grab my toothbrush and other toiletries. Just as I finished getting into my white knee-high boots, Norge came to my doorway again.

"I hope you have everything, because our cab is here and we're not going to keep it waiting." He spoke in his usual, dry, voice, but I knew that he didn't mean it. If I hadn't finished packing in time, Norge would have immediately jumped in to help me.

"Yeah, I think I have everything." My tone was just as dry, but Norge smiled a little and led me into the living room. Waiting at the front door were Norge's two suitcases and carry-on bag. I just had the one suitcase that I tugged behind me. I picked up Norge's carry-on and he got his suitcases and we exited the front door together. "We'll be back soon," I promised the house as Norge locked the door. We descended the steps and threw our luggage into the trunk of the cab.

"Keflavíkurflugvöllur," Norge said to the cab driver as we got into the back seat.

The ride to Keflavík International Airport went fast, because I fell asleep the second we pulled onto the highway. But it took _forever_ at the airport. I hate flying because it's always such a hassle to deal with all of the security checks and the paperwork stuff. Thankfully Norge was left in charge, so we got through smoothly. Now I sat in the small airplane that would bring us to New York, where we were going to catch a second plane that will bring us directly to San Francisco. "We'll be back soon," I said again; though this time I didn't say it just to my house, but to my home. I'd only been out of Iceland once, to go to Norway for the summer last year, and I didn't like it. I felt like I was cheating on my home country to go live in America for the next four years of my life. _Oh well. I can't do anything about it now._ The plane lifted off the runway and I sadly watched Iceland as it disappeared beneath us.

"Let's go find somewhere to eat lunch," Norge suggested as we left San Francisco International Airport. Both of our flights had gone without a hitch, except when I had to go to the bathroom to throw up as we flew over Missouri. My stomach can't handle too much motion before I get sick. Of course, Norge doesn't know that. He'd get even more protective if he knew my one weakness. So I had just told him I had to use the bathroom and left it at that. _I didn't lie. It's not like he asked _why_ I needed a bathroom. It would have been so embarrassing if he knew I was throwing up my cereal._

"Yeah, I'm starving," I replied.

"I told you to eat when we were in New York. We had an hour long overlay between our flights on purpose; I knew we'd get hungry," Norge said, as he rolled his eyes.

"Whatever," I said. Little did he know that I specifically didn't eat because I knew I was going to throw up, and the less there was for me to throw up, the better. I looked at a clock and groaned; it was only 10:45 AM! Our flight from Keflavík International Airport had left around 5:00 AM and we had flown for about eleven and a half hours, but the time difference put us seven hours back.

"Just come on," Norge said, but before I could say anything in return, he grabbed my arm and pulled me into one of the small airport restaurants. We sat in silence as we ate our freshly fried fish. _This is the best junk food I've ever eaten. I'm never going so long without food ever again!_

After we ate, we got our luggage and hailed another cab. This time, I was the one who spoke, seeing as Norge was still struggling to get his second suitcase into the trunk of the car. "Do you know where Hetalia Prep is?" _Just saying that I'm going to a prep school makes me feel like a snob. I mean, trust Americans to come up with another fancy word that means 'high school'!_

The cab driver's eyes widened when I told him our destination. He looked at me with a sudden wave of respect. _I guess people respect those who can get into Hetalia Prep._ "Of course I know where it is! But... but... I've never actually met someone who got into that school! Are you some kind of super genius, or are you just that rich?"

His questions sounded earnest, though I could have taken them to mean that he was mocking me. I curled the ends of my lips up just enough so that the man knew that I was attempting to smile and said, "Well, my brother is a genius. The administrations board practically begged him to go there. But he said he wouldn't go unless I got in, too. And no, we're not rich. He got a full scholarship there and he made sure I got the same. My brother... errrr... can be pretty persuasive." Just as I finished my explanation, Norge had finally succeeded in getting all of the luggage to fit into the trunk. He opened the door and slid in next to me.

"Next stop, Hetalia Prep!" the cab driver said, excitedly. He pulled away from the curb and sped towards our destination.

Our cab had left the San Francisco International Airport at 11:20 AM, but we didn't get to Hetalia Prep until 1:00 PM. I, again, slept the entire ride. I knew that Norge had slept, too, because I had to jab his ribcage with my elbow to wake him up as we pulled up to the front gate of the school.

_Wow. This is nothing like the schools we have back in Iceland._ The gate itself had two marble slabs that stood twelve feet into the air. Between the marble blocks was the most beautiful wrought iron gates that I'd ever seen. The swirls and twists and braids of the metal seemed so perfect that no human could have sculpted them. My mind was even more blown, though, when the gates opened for us and we drove past the small forest that stretched out on both sides of the gate. It was then, as we rounded a soft turn, that I could finally see the school.

Hetalia Prep was massive! The building was five stories tall, but I had a feeling that the school also extended underground, too. The whole building was made of beautiful bricks, stones, and marble. There were huge windows that dominated the walls, and the front steps were at least thirty feet wide and were made of solid marble. Ivy crawled up the surface of the school, which just added to the beauty and mystery that surrounded the building. There were tall trees lined up along all of the pathways that stretched around the school. In the center of the roof I could see a huge glass dome that was probably part of an observatory.

"That's amazing," the cab driver breathed as he stopped the car. We gave him our money and got our bags from the trunk. The cab left and we slowly walked to the front steps, taking in everything as we walked.

_It's so warm here. I actually wish I wasn't wearing this coat._ I stopped thinking about the weather, though, as we finished climbing the twenty or so steps and stood directly in front of the door. It was made of dark oak, and it was carved with intricate designs. It looked like a maze of woven lines and hidden symbols. "So... do we just go in?" I asked, intimidated by how prestigious this school looked.

"I guess so," Norge said in his usual, flat, voice. He pushed open the door and we stepped inside with our luggage.

I gasped when I saw the inside of the school; of our new home. "Norge, I don't think we're in Iceland anymore."

**A/N: Here's chapter 1! I hope you liked it. I don't own Hetalia! Big thanks to walroose and Lycoris1305 for everything! Another HUGE thanks to Wisely-san, who helped me develop this story and who is always so supportive! Review, da? Please?**


	2. Welcome to Hetalia Prep!

**A/N: Here's chapter 2! Thanks for reading this story; I hope you've liked it so far. I know it's starting slow, but it will pick up soon. Enjoy, da? ^^**

**Chapter 2: Welcome to Hetalia Prep!**

If I had been impressed by the exterior of the school, then there are no words to describe how blown away I was when I saw the interior of the school. When you first come in through the front door, you immediately see two large staircases that wrap up to the second floor from both sides. The stairs were marble and had a luxurious red carpet running up the center of them. In the middle of the ceiling, thirty feet above our heads, hung a beautiful gold and glass chandelier that illuminated the entire room. The walls were covered in paintings, awards, and plaques. It felt like a museum. I was afraid to even breathe. So I didn't; I held my breath and looked around the hall, my eyes widening. _You've got to be kidding me... How did we even end up in a place like this?_ I wanted to voice these thoughts to Norge, but I couldn't make my mouth move. I was still too awe struck.

Norge, however, seemed unaffected by the glorious entrance way. "Come on, I think we need to go this way..." He trailed off as he turned towards the left. I followed him slowly and noticed that down a short hall was a sign hung over a door. It said "Administration" in fancy script. _I guess that's where we go to sign in._

We walked through the door, (dark oak, just like the front door), and stepped into a spacious office. There was only one woman sitting behind the desk, as far as I could tell, so Norge went up to her. "Hello. My name is Norway and this is my brother Iceland. We're here..."

He was cut off though as the woman's face brightened up and said, "Oh! I know who you are! You're those two boys from Iceland, right? The genius who wouldn't come unless his brother could come, too, right?" Norge gave a curt nod and the woman's smile brightened even further. "Splendid! You can call me Ms. Hungary! I basically run everything in the administration's office, so you can come to me if you need anything!" The cheerful woman stood up and walked around the desk so that she was right in front of us. She eagerly shook our hands and then clasped both of her hands together.

_Wow, either she's always this nice or she's really bored and happy to have a distraction._

"Let me show you your dorm rooms!" She suddenly dashed behind the desk again and picked up two pieces of paper and two keys. "So you're Norway," she said as she handed Norge a slip of paper and a key, "which means you must be Iceland." She handed me the other paper and key. Norge's eyes darted onto my paper before he looked up at Ms. Hungary.

"We aren't in the same room," he stated flatly. His voice held no emotion, but I could see the frustration in his eyes.

Ms. Hungary could see it, too, because when she spoke again her voice was a bit less cheerful. "Yes, I know you requested that, but we couldn't get it to work. We like to keep students in the same dorm for all four years, so we needed to find a second year student to put you with, Norway." Norge looked hurt. _Well, just be thankful that this school wanted you so badly that they'd let me in. I mean, I didn't want to have the same room as you, anyways..._ I felt a bit bad for not wanting to be with Norge, but I let the feeling pass. It would be better for Norge to have to be with someone in his own grade, anyways. He wasn't good at making friends. _Especially since all of the second years know each other by now._ It was an odd occurrence for someone to be accepted into Hetalia Prep when they weren't a first year. But the school hadn't heard of Norge until a few months ago, when he'd gotten a perfect score on some college-level exam that he had taken.

"We understand," I said in my driest tone of voice. Norge shot me a glance and Ms. Hungary just smiled at me.

"Now let's go find your rooms!" Ms. Hungary walked back around the desk and led us out the door of the administration's office. We followed her, dragging our luggage behind us, down the rest of the short hallway that her office was in. At the end of said hallway was a set of stairs. They weren't grand like the ones out front, but they were still carved out of solid stone and had paintings hanging on their walls. We walked up the twisting staircase until we reached the third floor. Here we got off at the little landing that connected the stairs to this floor. We walked down the end of the hallway and stopped outside the last door. The rooms were only on one side of the hallway because the other wall was just windows that overlooked the front entrance.

"All of the boys' dorms are in the West Wing of the school," Ms. Hungary explained. "We don't have nearly as many girl students, but they have their dorms in the East Wing." She winked. "But don't get any ideas. If we find that a boy student has even entered the East Wing without a teacher's permission, he will be immediately expelled." We both just nodded and then turned our heads towards the dark oak door. _The must really like dark oak..._ My thoughts suddenly stopped when I glanced at the number on the door: 350. _Well I know this isn't _my_ room._

Norge stared at the door and thanked Ms. Hungary for bringing us here. "Could you wait a minute? I just want to leave my luggage here and come with you. I want to know where Ice's room will be." Ms. Hungary nodded and Norge stuffed his key into the lock. Once the door was open, we both walked in (since I had been holding his carry-on and I needed to leave it there).

The room was clean and elegantly decorated, a large painting of a flower garden covering one wall. There were two identical beds, no windows, and a door that seemed to lead into a bathroom that was to be shared with the occupants of the neighboring room. The bed spreads were a dark maroon with shiny golden accents and details that made them look like they were meant for royalty. Norge walked to the bed that was farther from the door and placed his suitcases on his bed. I followed suit, laying his carry-on bag on top of the huge fluffy pillows that adorned the bed.

"This seems... nice." Norge's words were true, but I could tell that they were forced.

_He must still be sad that I have a different room._ Ms. Hungary was still standing outside when we returned a minute later.

"Ready?" she asked, as she turned towards us. Again we nodded and then she led us back to the winding staircase. We followed her up to the fifth and final floor. The first door to the left was where we stopped and I glanced at the number on the door: 513. _This is me._ I put my newly acquired key into the hole and twisted slowly. When the door opened I walked into a room that was eerily similar to Norge's. The only difference was that the painting on the wall was of a city (London if I had to guess) and the color theme was a dark purple instead of maroon. I went to the bed closest to the door and threw my suitcase on to it. I glanced around the room for half a second before exiting.

Ms. Hungary looked a little surprised that I had only gone in for about thirty seconds, but she smiled anyways. "If you'd like, we can go back to my office and I can print you off a copy of your class schedules. I could even show you all of your classrooms, if you want."

We nodded, but this time I also opened my mouth and ask the question that had been bothering me since we arrived at the school. "Where is everyone? I know classes don't start for a week, but I haven't seen anyone else since we got here."

"Oh, well you two are the first ones here!" Ms. Hungary said. I raised my eyebrows. She continued, "But all of the others should be arriving in the next day or two. The day before classes start everyone must be present for the orientation that we hold every year for new and returning students." I just nodded again, but I frowned slightly.

_This is weird. I already know I don't belong here, so it's kind of unnerving to be in this huge school without anyone else._ I looked at Norge and he had a similar frown. Ms. Hungary didn't seem to notice, or just didn't care, because she suddenly turned back to the staircase and we followed her.

After we went to the administration's office again, Ms. Hungary spent about an hour showing us where our class rooms were, as well as the cafeteria (that looked like a fine-dining restaurant) and the library (that had to have at least 200,000 books in it; in an array of different languages). Once our tour was done, Ms. Hungary said she still had some work to do and then ran back to her office.

Norge and I went back to our dorm rooms. We were both exhausted from the jet-lag and needed some sleep, even though it was only 2:30 PM. I flopped onto my bed and stared at my suitcase for a minute before I decided I should unpack. There were two small dressers in the room, so I went to the one closest to my bed and arranged my clothes into the drawers. I noticed that sitting on top of my dresser were some clean school uniforms, a fresh towel, and an extra blanket. I picked up one of the uniforms and inspected it. There was a navy blue blazer with the school's crest (a purple shield with the maroon silhouette of a bear holding a dark orange chrysanthemum in its paw) embroidered on the left breast pocket. This went with the white button down shirt and maroon tie that was also provided, along with black dress pants. I figured that, since they weren't provided, I could wear my own shoes. _Good._ I looked down at my shiny white boots and sighed with relief. _Norge gave me these boots. I'm glad I can still wear them._ Although I don't always like my brother, these boots were my most prized possession because he bought them for me on a whim one day. _The best day of my life..._ But I stopped my thoughts before they led to... memories of a not-so-happy time.

I put my uniform back on top of my dresser and then fell onto the bed again. I closed my eyes and immediately fell asleep.

I heard a loud groan and I sat up. The lights were off and it was pitch black outside. I had only opened the door to my dorm twice now, but I'd already learned that it groaned and creaked loudly, like it needed to be oiled. So, my eyes darted to the door and widened when they saw the shadow of a large man standing in the door frame.

I opened my mouth, and screamed.

**A/N: Thanks for reading my story! I hope it's getting interesting. Don't worry, you're going to meet a lot of new characters next chapter, I promise!**

**So I actually looked up stuff on crests and coats of arm. Purple means royalty, maroon means patience in battle, and yet victorious, and orange means worthy ambition. The bear signifies strength, cunning, and ferocity in the protection of one's kindred; while the chrysanthemum represents abundance, cheerfulness, optimism, truth, hope, rest, and friendship.**

**Again, thanks to walroose, Lycoris1305, and Wisely-san for everything! Please, please, PLEASE review! **


	3. The Drawing

**A/N: So I wrote chapter 3! It's a little longer than the first 2, but I think that's a good thing. ^^ Thanks for reading, I hope you like this!**

**Chapter 3: The Drawing**

I opened my mouth, and screamed.

Suddenly the lights flicked on. The shadow-man was illuminated and I just kept screaming. I'd never seen this person before and I was still half asleep, and thus very confused. The tall man stared at me with wide green eyes. After a full minute of screaming I stopped abruptly and just stared back at him. For a guy, he had long, brown, hair and a sweet face. In the center, on the top of his head, he had a weird piece of hair that stuck straight up and curled down on two sides. _It kind of looks like a little plant with leaves starting to grow on it._ He was wearing a teal shirt and his pants were a strange grayish shade that I couldn't describe exactly. Just looking at him I could tell he had a calm demeanor, and he seemed nice enough. My face blushed as I realized that I had been screaming in front of my new roommate.

"Hi, I'm Iceland... Ummmm... sorry for screaming. You just... startled me. I guess I was asleep and you woke me up." My words came out kind of quickly, since my heart was still racing, though it was starting to return to its normal rate.

"Yeah. I'm sorry about that. My name is Greece," the man said. His voice was calm, low, and he spoke slowly. He had a slight accent, and guessing by his name, it was Greek.

"No, it was my fault... What time is it?" I looked at the clock on my bedside table, which read 9:07 PM. _Wow, I've been asleep for six and a half hours. This guy probably thinks I'm some kind of nerd for being asleep at 9 o'clock._ But when I looked at the boy's smooth face he was smiling.

"Yeah... I should have knocked first." He paused to breathe a few heavy breaths. Now that I looked at him more closely, I could see he was panting. "I just wandered around this school for two hours trying to find this room. It's so empty here." _I wonder where Ms. Hungary is... _Now he paused to smile and looked longingly at the empty bed. He strode over to it and dropped his two bags at its foot. "Don't let me keep you awake. I think I'm going to bed."

_Maybe he doesn't think I'm some loser..._ "Oh, okay. Did you just fly in or something? I mean... I don't usually go to bed this early; I'm just really jet-lagged."

The boy named Greece tilted his head and smiled slowly. _Does he do everything so slowly?_ "No, my house is only about an hour-long car-drive from here. Where did you fly in from?"

Normally I don't like to talk to people, but seeing as Ms. Hungary said I'd be in the same dorm, presumably with the same roommate, for the next four years, I wanted to leave a good first impression. (Because I wasn't counting my screaming as our first impression.) "My brother and I flew in from Iceland. It took about eleven and a half hours of flying, but California is seven hours behind Iceland time. I had to wake up at 2:00 AM, over there, so now my body's really confused about what time it is." My voice was a bit brighter than its usual, flat, self, but that probably had to do with my exhaustion.

"Oh wow. I don't blame you for sleeping... I'll sleep at any time of the day." He got up from the bed and turned on the light on his bedside table. Then he crossed back over towards the door to turn off the overhead lights. I watched as he then returned to his bed and laid down. He looked at me and said, "Good night," before turning off his lamp.

_Okay..._ I was now shrouded in darkness again. I wasn't very comfortable with this situation. Greece seemed like a nice guy, but I didn't know anything about him! _How can I sleep with a complete stranger lurking over in the corner?_ (Not that he was "lurking", because I could hear the snores that proved that he was already asleep.) I turned over and stared at the wall. I closed my eyes and felt time slowly tick by, until I finally fell into a dreamless sleep.

Over the next few days, the school exploded with life. After waking up on the first morning, I learned that twenty newcomers had arrived while I had been sleeping. It didn't take long for the hallways to overflow with boys (since there were very few girls, and they kept to themselves in the East Wing). I spent most of my time memorizing the hallways or sitting in the library with Norge.

On the night before orientation, I went to Norge's room to enjoy our last full day of summer together. I was sitting on the empty bed when the door suddenly burst open. "HELLO!" A tall man with blond, medium-ish length, hair walked in, saying hello to what he thought was an empty room. He had a dumb grin plastered across his face, but it disappeared when he saw the two of us. "Ummm... Who are you? Because I'm pretty sure that last year I escaped without having a roommate, so I figured I wouldn't ever have to get one. Are you first years?" His eyes brightened and his grin returned though as he really saw Norge for the first time. His eyes slowly trailed over Norge's body. _Gag! This freak's totally checking Norge out!_ My eyes slightly bulged as I watched the man cross over to where Norge was sitting.

"I'm a second year, so the school wanted to put me with another second year. We could talk to administration if you want me to lea-" But Norge was cut off when the man leaved in close, a bit too close. "Uhhhhhh..."

"I'm sorry for being so rude. I don't want us to start off on the wrong foot... Let me try this again." He coughed and straightened up. "Hi. I'm Denmark. But _you_," he purred, "can call me Denny. Sooo... you must be really smart to get into Hetalia Prep as a second year." Norge shrugged and "Denny" wriggled his eyebrows. _Just kill me now..._ Suddenly Denny turned towards me. "Then why are you here? Unless all three of us have to share the room..."

"No, I'm just Norge's younger brother. I was just visiting him." I kept my voice flat and even, though I was getting very frustrated with this man. _Gah. I just want to punch him!_

Denny turned back towards Norge and asked, "So your name is Norge? As in, short for Norway?" Norge nodded. "How cute! We're both named after Scandinavian countries! Have you ever been to Norway? I've never been to Denmark, but I plan on going one day!" His eyes shone as he waited for Norge's answer.

"Yeah, we went there last summer. My brother, Iceland or 'Ice'," he said, adding air quotes, "and I actually live in Iceland." Denny's eyes became huge and he darted his head back and forth between Norge and I.

"That's sooooo cool!" Denny then jumped onto Norge, giving him a big hug. "I bet we're going to be best friends!" At this I stood up and left the room without even saying goodbye to Norge.

It was the morning of our school orientation. Classes started tomorrow, but by then I had engraved a perfect map of where my classrooms were into my mind. Greece and I had formed a bond, and we respected each other. I learned to never, ever, wake him up and he learned to deal with my attitude by not taking my emotionless-ness as a personal insult. _Good. I hate making people mad because they take everything I say as a personal attack. _Sorry_ if I'm good at showing my emotions._

Greece and I walked down to the cafeteria together, meeting up with Norge and (sadly) Denny as we made our way to the first floor. I still hated Denny for being so creepy with my brother. _Not that I care. Norge's problems aren't _my_ problems._ That thought made me feel a twinge of guilt. _Oh well._ While I had been thinking, I didn't notice the slim person who was standing next to an open door. He was probably waiting for someone, since he was turned towards the door (not that I saw what he was doing, seeing as I hadn't even seen him). I slammed right into him. He didn't lose his balance, but the scalding tea that was in the cup in his hand spilled all over him, causing him to cry out in pain.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't see you! I wasn't looking where I was going and-" My voice was uncharacteristically soft and hinted at emotion. _I do feel bad._

But the boy just glared at me and then started to pull his shirt off. I stared at his perfect chest with wide eyes when he finally managed to tug off his shirt and blazer. _Why is he wearing his uniform when we don't have classes yet?..._ My face burned red, though, when I realized that the boy, Denny, Norge, and Greece were staring at me, staring at the boy's chest. _How long have I been staring at him? It feels like time stopped or something..._ I darted my eyes away. But I looked back up when I heard the boy let out another cry. This time, instead of checking him out, I looked at his stomach and the red, blistering, burn that covered it. _How could he drink that tea if it was so hot?_ My heart suddenly dropped when I saw a couple of fat tears roll off of his cheeks. _I... I made him cry._ "What can I do to help you? I'm really sorry. Let me help you! I can-" I was cut off as the boy ran into the open door and slammed it in my face. I furrowed my brows and let my mouth hang open slightly. _Well, I guess I deserved that._

I turned to Norge and suddenly got flustered when I saw that my three travel companions were still staring at me. I rushed the words out of my mouth, "It was an accident! I swear! I wasn't looking where I was going and I just walked into him! I... I..."

Norge's fierce glare softened as he said, "I know. Let's just go. You can apologize to him some other time."

_Yeah right. When will I ever see him again? I don't even know what year he is..._ But, although I'm not as smart as Norge, I'm not dumb. I know that whatever Norge says is law, according to him, so I didn't waste my time in trying to argue. I just nodded and we continued on our way to the cafeteria.

We entered the cafeteria with the rest of the school, and the four of us grabbed a table together. We sat in an awkward silence for a minute, but then Ms. Hungary walked out.

"Hello everyone! I'm so glad to see all of these new and familiar faces! Normally this is when I make you sit here for an hour, listening to me drone on about the school and our mission here. But this year we're going to skip all of that and I'm going to introduce you to the school's new dean, Mr. Austria!" Everyone looked around when a young man, probably only 20 years old or so, stood up and walked to Ms. Hungary. She stood at the front of the cafeteria, where people go to pick out their food at meal times, and she had a microphone held to her mouth. She handed the microphone to Mr. Austria, who took it and cleared his throat.

"Hello everyone! I'm honored to meet all of you. I'm sure you don't want to listen to me talk, so I'm going to make this brief. This year, I have the honor of introducing a new form of... _competition_... to this school. I don't want to give anything away, but I will tell you this. You will all be placed into teams of two. Whichever pair is able to beat all of the other teams will be awarded with a magnificent prize." Suddenly the cafeteria was filled with the sounds of eager students, all wondering what kind of competition it would be and what sort of prize they could win. "Well, now I'll hand the microphone back to Ms. Hungary so that you can draw teams." More excited voices flooded the room instantly.

_Is this whole thing mandatory? I really don't want to make a fool of myself in front of everyone... maybe you have to sign up to join or something..._ I wanted to believe myself, but I wouldn't allow my hopes to get up.

Denny leaned forward. "Wow! Last year's orientation was soooo long and boring! You guys really lucked out this year." He laughed, which in turn caused Norge to roll his eyes.

Ms. Hungary was now in possession of the microphone and said, "Now we need all of the grade levels to split off. First years to the far back corner, second years to that one," she said, pointing to one of the farther corners, "third years over to my left, and fourth years to my right." A huge commotion started as everyone in the cafeteria stood up and ambled to their respective corner. I followed Greece and we stood against the wall, as far into the corner as we could get. Ms. Hungary started to talk again as four teachers, one for each grade level, appeared. "Each of you will randomly draw a number from a bag, and the other student with the same number will be your partner for the competition. To try and make things a little easier for everyone, we put the two tokens of the same number into one bag, which will be passed amongst only one grade level. This way you can at least be sure to have a fellow student from your own class as a partner. Everyone understand? Once you draw your number, _do not_ show it to anyone. I will start with number one, which is in the bag that's going throughout the fourth years, and continue in sequential order. Sorry first years, but we're going to end with you, since your bag has all of the highest numbers... hahaha. Let's begin! The two fourth years who are holding a token with the number one on it, please come up here to the microphone!"

A boy and a girl emerged from the crowd and walked up to Ms. Hungary. They said their names to her, and she relayed them into the microphone. "I'm proud to welcome Team One: Egypt and Ukraine!"

This process continued for a long time. Although we had to stand in our corners the entire time, everyone else seemed to be enjoying themselves, laughing at some of the pairings that were called off. _Too bad I don't know anyone._ I didn't enjoy it as much as the fourth years, or the second or third years for that matter, who know everyone in their grade. _At least I'm not alone._ All of us first years (and Norge) looked around nervously as more and more numbers were called. _This really isn't fair! I've probably never even met my partner before!_ I looked at my number again: 200. The number was carved into a wooden circle, though it was very elegant. Obviously a skilled craftsman made it. I closed the token into my hand again.

My eyes were dragged away from my token because Ms. Hungary had just called out, "Team One Hundred Thirty Six: Norway and Denmark!" I felt my eyes widen. _I am so sorry for you, Norge._ First Norge had to be roommates with the idiot, but now he also has to be partners with him for this weird competition, too. I laughed when I saw Norge roll his eyes as Denny hugged him as they re-entered the group of second years. I stood in my spot and watched them for a few minutes. It was pretty comical. _Norge really hates that guy, doesn't he?..._ Norge was trying to get away from Denny, but he had attached himself to Norge's arm and wouldn't let him get away.

When I looked up from watching my brother, I was surprised to hear Ms. Hungary call, "Team One Hundred Ninety One: Greece and Japan!" _Are we really only a few calls away from when I get to meet my partner?_ Greece slowly let a small smile form on his face as he walked back from Ms. Hungary. _Does he know that "Japan" boy? I've never seen Greece talking with him, and I'm sure that he's never mentioned that name before... Oh well._ She continued to call names for another minute as I pondered this.

Ms. Hungary cleared her throat and spoke louder than she had been. "Alright people! Settle down! We have one more team to go. Last but not least, Team Two Hundred!" I started towards Ms. Hungary. _Of course I'm one of the last people to get called up._ There were too many people in the way, so I couldn't see who was walking up with me. I got to Ms. Hungary and immediately reminded her what my name was. _I wonder if she even remembers meeting me a couple of day ago..._ Her face said she did, though, because she quickly nodded and then turned to the person who had walked up next to me.

I turned my head to get a better look at the boy as he said, "I'm Hong Kong." Ms. Hungary repeated our names into the microphone when I caught the boy's face.

_Oh no..._

**A/N: Poor Hong Kong! I can't believe I made Iceland burn you! D:**

**Thanks to walroose, Lycoris1305, and Wisely-san! You guys rock!**

**So I know this is still slow, but bear with me! Things will get funner-er soon. Please review if you like this or if you don't. Suggestions are always welcome, da?**


	4. Lost in Thought

**A/N: Halló! Thanks for still reading this story! I love anyone who actually reading this! Especially everyone who favorited this, reviewed this, or added this story to their alerts list. That really means a lot to me. I'll shut up now, da? Enjoy! ^^**

**Chapter 4: Lost in Thought**

My partner, Hong Kong he said his name was, scowled at me and opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Ms. Hungary said, "Well that's it everyone! Orientation is officially over. Classes start in the morning, so you should all get back to your rooms to get some rest!" Everyone groaned but then started to talk excitedly. I just stood still and stared at Hong Kong. _My partner... This guy's my partner... And he hates me._

The small boy who had turned and walked (no, wait, _staggered_) away from me was the same boy that I had run into on our way to orientation. The way he moved showed how much pain he was in. _That tea really burned him... And I never _really _apologized!_ When I remembered that I hadn't had the chance to say much to the guy, I ran to catch up to him. I nearly crashed into him again, because he had to stop to let a large mob of people pass in front of him. He glared at me as I stopped only half a step behind him.

"Haven't you done enough to me today? Just because we're... _partners_ now, or whatever you want to call it, doesn't mean you have to trail behind me like a lost puppy." He frowned as he said the words, making it quite obvious that he doesn't like me. _Wow, this guy is a jerk..._

I cleared my throat before I mumbled, "I... I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for running into you earlier. I wasn't looking where I was going... If there's anything I can do to help you, please, please, just tell me..." I waited but he said nothing. He just turned his head to look back at the mob that was still headed for the doors to leave the cafeteria. I sighed before I asked, "How is it?... Your burn, I mean..." For some strange reason, I didn't talk to him in my usual dry voice. _I must feel really guilty._ I frowned as Hong Kong whipped his head around.

"If you really must know, it hurts more than you could ever imagine. Just picture someone taking a smoldering ember and holding it up to your stomach. No matter how much you beg for the burning to go away, it doesn't. You just have to deal with the pain and accept it. So yeah, I'm not doing well. But I'd never ask for _your_ help... Well, there is one thing you _could_ do to help..." I just stared at him, jaw dropped. _Geez. This guy is _so_ over dramatic!_ He continued, "You could... leave me alone!" At that, Hong Kong plunged into the crowd of students that were still leaving the cafeteria.

"Okay," I whispered as I turned my eyes down. _Classes haven't even started and I've already made an enemy..._ I looked up at the nearly empty cafeteria. It was "nearly" empty because everyone had left except for Norge and Denny (Greece had left with Japan, if I saw correctly). Norge walked over to me, Denny skipping behind him.

"That boy, Hong Kong, was the one you ran into, right?" Of course, Norge said this in his driest voice. I nodded and he said, "I thought so. Did you get a chance to talk to him?"

I didn't like being interrogated, so I suddenly turned on my brother, outraged. "Just drop it! It doesn't matter to you, does it? Just... mind your own business," I snapped. My brows were bunched together in anger and my lips were curled down in a scowl. _Why can't he ever leave me alone?..._ The question made me feel bad, though, as I realized that I was only repeating what Hong Kong had said to me earlier.

"Fine then..." Norge's brows were also furrowed and he turned around abruptly. "Come on _Denny_. Ice and I were going to hang out today, but he clearly doesn't want to be with me!" Denny's face lit up as he hugged Norge's arm excitedly, squealing in delight. Norge was just trying to make to make me feel bad, and it was working. I immediately regretted what I had said, but it was against my nature to take it back. I just stiffened and watched as Norge led Denny out of the cafeteria.

Then I was alone. I never had friends before, but I'd also never felt so hopelessly alone. I slowly walked out of the cafeteria, letting my feet take me wherever they wanted to go. I walked outside and across the grass that stretches in front of the school. I didn't question my feet as they brought me into the small forest by the front gate. I walked a little ways into the patch of trees before I suddenly stopped in front of one. I looked up at the huge tree, and without thinking about it, I started to climb into the branches. The branches started low and were fairly evenly spread out, spiraling around the thick trunk. I climbed up about thirty feet before I settled onto a large branch, my legs straddling the rough bark. This tree was enormous, so even at my height, I had only made it about halfway up the tree.

I looked out towards the school. I could see it through the other trees that surrounded me, the bright red from the school's bricks standing out in my field of vision. _What did I do?_ I cradled my head in my hands. _Now Norge and Hong Kong both hate me! I bet that even Denny hates me, how couldn't he after he saw how I had treated Norge?_ I just sat there in the tree, head hung in shame, listening to the birds, for over an hour. _Pity party of one..._ I finally got over feeling bad for myself and decided I need to figure out a plan to make things better. _First I need to..._ I gulped at the mere thought as it passed through my mind _...apologize to Norge. But how do I do that?_ Although Norge and I were super close, especially since our parents... well, suffice it to say, Norge and I were just really close and I felt like I really messed up this time. _I've said dumb things to him before, but I've never actually yelled at him. He's never given me such an evil look before..._ A single tear rolled down my face. _This is so dumb... look at me! Grrrrr..._ I let the tear roll off my cheek and fall onto my jacket. _This is why I hate letting people get close to me. If I actually care about someone it makes it a lot harder for me to keep my emotions hidden._

Wanting to leave my emotions up in that tree, I climbed down until I was about ten feet off the ground. I jumped, landed in a roll, and laid on my back. I stared at the sky as my head stopped spinning. _Ouch! Maybe I should have climbed down a bit further before I jumped..._ Finally I got to my feet and slowly ambled back in the direction of the school.

I got back to the school half an hour later (since I made sure to drag my feet as I walked out of the forest). The hallways were crowded with people, everyone trying to get as much time to be with their friends before classes started. I slumped my shoulders as I walked slowly to room 350. I knocked on the door with two knuckles, hoping it would be so quiet that, if Norge was there, he wouldn't be able to hear it. _At least then I could say I tried..._ The door flew open and Denny's smiling face appeared. His eyes were closed as his grin stretched from ear to ear.

"HELLLOOOOOO~!" he sang, but then he opened his eyes. "Oh... hey, Ice..." He glanced over his shoulder before he leaned in. He whispered, "Norge is really mad, I think. You might not want to stay here…" He pulled away from me and winked. Before I could even think of anything to say, he closed the door.

I guess Norge didn't even know it was me… I skulked back to my dorm room, hoping Greece wouldn't be there. Thankfully, the room was dark and empty when I entered. I laid down on my bed and looked at the ceiling for a few minutes. Then I slowly sat up. Well, today is the last day of summer. I guess I better make it worthwhile… I stood up, wondering what would be something fun to do. I had glanced at the clock; 12:32 PM. Most of the other students should be at lunch about now. So, naturally, I decided that I wouldn't go to lunch that day. What if I ran into Norge or Hong Kong? I don't think I could deal with that…

I felt guilt pool into my stomach when I thought about them. I love Norge, although nobody needs to know that, and he means everything to me. He's all I have left, and without him I probably would have ended my life a long time ago…. Then there was Hong Kong. I barely knew him. All I knew was that I had hurt him and now I was dealing with the consequences. But I had this urgent feeling that I needed to fix things between us; especially before the whole "competition" thing. (Not that I cared about the competition.) _I hate feeling guilty_.

So I spent the last day of summer in the library, reading manga. (Who knew such a fancy-pants school would have so many volumes of manga?) I stayed there until 9:00 PM, and then I went back to my dorm. _Why did I decide to skip lunch and dinner?_... My stomach grumbled as I entered the dark room. Is Greece still gone? I wonder what he's been doing all day… As I brushed my teeth in the bathroom, getting ready to go to bed early, the door creaked and I looked up. Greece entered, a tiny brown cat perched on his shoulder. _That's new_… He had a huge smile on his face and he was red; not because he was tired… he looked like he was blushing. I realized why, though, when suddenly a small boy with black hair appeared at his side. _Oh… that's Japan._ The door to the bathroom was only half open, so I could see them but they couldn't see me.

Greece's hand was suddenly tangled in Japan's hair, the small boy beet red and looking uncomfortable, as he leaned in. Greece's lips connected with Japan's, who lifted his hands so that they wrapped around Greece's neck. _I don't think I should be watching this_… I quietly closed the bathroom door and sat down on the floor, my back pressed against the door and my hands pinned against my ears. _This might take a while_… I suddenly looked up and saw the door on the opposite wall. I know we share this bathroom with two other people, but I've never even met them… _That's weird. I don't think I've ever even heard them use the bathroom…_

I stood up and knocked on the door. I felt really dumb, since I was standing in a bathroom, knocking on the door to a stranger's room. After about thirty seconds the door opened a bit. A really tall blond boy with glasses looked at me. He didn't say anything and his face was emotionless. He stared for a moment and then opened the door all the way. _I guess that means I can come in_. I entered nervously. I was scared to have to sit in this room with this guy all alone. Then I saw another boy sitting on one of the beds. This room was exactly like mine, only the painting on the wall was of a cute white puppy-dog. _What's up with all of the weird paintings in this school_, I thought as I recalled the flower painting in Norge's room.

The boy on the bed stood up. He was taller than me, but a lot shorter than the guy who had opened the door. "Hi! I'm Finland," he stuck out his hand and I shook it. Then he looked towards the tall boy and said, "and he's Sweden!"_ Well now I know where all of the Scandinavians live…_

"Hi, I'm Iceland… Sorry to barge in through your bathroom. I'm from the room next door and my roommate was… uhhh… with his _friend _and I felt….. awkward. Is it okay if I stay here until they… finish up?" The way both of them smirked told me they were catching my drift, and Finland's face lit up.

"Of course! You can call me Finny, by the way." He looked at Sweden again, his smiling softening. "You can call him Su-s…" But he was cut off by the fierce glare that Sweden suddenly shot him. "Oh… you can just call him Sweden, I guess."

"You can call me Ice if you want." I spoke in my dry voice again, though I didn't want to scare away potential friends._ Friends… I don't even know what that means anymore._ I could hear loud noises coming from my room and Finland laughed.

"You can spend the night here, if you'd like" He said, looking towards Sweden. Sweden nodded and so did I.

"Fun. A slumber party."

**A/N: I'm sorry! Especially to you, Iceland! I think this chapter is really depressing and dragged-out. Don't worry, there will be a funny slumber party in the next chapter (SuFin, anyone?)! XD**

**Thanks again to walroose, Lycoris1305, and Wisely-san! I 3 you!**

**Please review. I might cry if I don't get reviews, and then I'll just give up on this story… (Not really, cuz now I **_**have**_** to finish. I like closure.) But please, I'm a lonely person. I need to feel the love!**


	5. Good Night

**A/N: Howdy! I was depressed after I wrote the last chapter, so I made this one a lot more fun! (I hope!) Well, enjoy my little moment of SuFin goodness!**

**Chapter 5: Good Night**

"Fun. A slumber party."

"Oh, this is so exciting!" Finny sang. He smiled at Sweden, who only blinked back. _I guess he's not as excited. Oh well…_ _At least I have a place to spend the night. _Finny got up and grabbed his pajamas before he went to the bathroom. "I'm gonna put on my pajamas, then we can get this party started!" At that, Sweden actually smiled. _Wow_.

Like I'd mentioned before, I'd never had friends. Thus, I'd never gone on a sleepover or went to a slumber party. (Unless you counted going to a family member's house. But I didn't.) _What do you do at slumber parties, anyway?_ I was glad that I had already brushed my teeth and put on my pajamas before I went over. My pajamas consisted of a dark purple T-shirt with a puffin pictured on it and gray sweatpants that I had rolled up to my knees. Then I realized that Sweden was also wearing pajamas; a loose fitting gray T-shirt with a hockey logo and blue boxers. He still had on his glasses, so I didn't know if he had been about to go to bed when I had knocked on the bathroom door or if he had just put them on early.

After I stood awkwardly for a minute with the tall blonde, Finny returned. He had on a light blue undershirt and black shorts. He smiled as he walked to a corner of the room to put his dirty clothes into a dirty clothes basket. Sweden and I looked at him expectantly. Since he didn't take the hint that we wanted him to say something, I swallowed and asked, "So, you're first years, right?"

"Yup! Everyone who has a dorm on this floor is a first year," Finny said informatively.

_Well that makes sense._ "So… where do you guys live? Outside of school, I mean." I had never started a conversation with a stranger before, so I was clueless.

"We're from Los Angeles. It's actually not very far away from here, so we didn't come until yesterday."

Wait a second… "You said, 'we'. Does that mean you knew each other before you came here?" I glanced at Finny's face and then at Sweden's. Sweden smiled, but Finny was the one to respond.

"We've been best friends for almost two years now! We were so ecstatic to learn that we both got into Hetalia Prep. I knew Su-s… Sweden, would get in, but I had doubts about myself. I was worried because Sweden said that if I didn't get in he wasn't going to come either." _Kind of like how Norge forced the school to let me in…_ Finny now stood next to Sweden, but he looked into my face. He smiled, "So, what do you want to do to kick-off our slumber party?"

"Ummm… I don't know. I've…. never been to a slumber party before…." I spoke quietly and in my driest voice. I blushed immediately after saying it. _They probably think I'm some kind of loser or something._

Finny laughed a bit, but I knew it wasn't directed at me in a mocking way. He laughed and said, "Cool! Then we're going to make this the best slumber party ever! I know, let's sing karaoke!" I tilted my head and glanced around the room. In my dorm, Greece and I both keep our laptops on our desks (which are pushed against the wall). It wasn't until now that I realized that in _their_ room, there were two laptops on one of the desks, and a television on the other one. All of the equipment to sing karaoke was stacked up around the screen.

"I… I don't really sing…" I fumbled around the words. _This cannot end well._ But Finny, and surprisingly, Sweden, pouted. Finny also gave me puppy-dog eyes, and I felt my heart break at the sad sight. "Well, I guess that could be a little fun." _They are letting me stay over, so I need to be polite and let them decide what we should do._

"Yay! Can I go first? I LOVE karaoke!" Finny ran over to the karaoke machine and set everything up. He started to scroll through the songs, suddenly stopping. "Su-san, want to do a duet with me!" _Su-san? Must be a nickname that Finny calls Sweden._ I was surprised to see Sweden look at the song title on the screen, a grin stretching across his face, and nod as he picked up a microphone. _I haven't even heard him talk yet…_

The music started and I immediately recognized the tune. Sweden opened his mouth and sang in a deep, husky, voice.

_N'w I've h'd th' t'me 'f my l'fe, _

_n' I n'ver f'lt l'ke th's w'y b'fore. _

_Y's I swear, it's th' truth, _

'_nd I owe it all t' ya._

The words came out slowly, but beautifully. I stared at Sweden, who wasn't even looking at the words on the screen. He was looking directly into Finny's face, who in turn was staring back into Sweden's eyes.

Finny then sang, his voice higher than when he just talks.

_Cause I've had the time of my life, _

_and I owe it all to you!_

Then the music's tempo picked up and the two continued to look lovingly into each other's face as they sang "(I've Had) The Time of my Life" from the movie Dirty Dancing.

When the chorus came and the two had to sing in unison, my heart fluttered at how perfectly the two harmonized.

_I've had the time of my life, _

_no I never felt this way before. _

_Yes I swear, it's the truth, _

_and I owe it all to you! _

(Though when Sweden sang he didn't really pronounce most of the vowels. But with Finny singing next to him, it was easily overlooked.) _This is kind of weird. Two guys singing this song, even though it was obviously written to be sung by a man and a woman. True, Finny's voice is rather high and feminine._ My face grew hot as the two kept leaning in towards each other. I was hit with a realization. _They're… they're, like, an_ item! _There's no way these two aren't a couple… Of course, I left my room to get away from the yaoi that was going on in there, and I just happen to find my way to another yaoi fling._ The two ended their song, their faces only an inch apart, both of them panting slightly.

I didn't know what to do, so I just stood there for a moment before Finny blinked, realizing that I was still in the room. His face reddened further as he looked at me. "So, do you want to try now?" I really didn't want to, but I nodded slowly. Finny helped me scroll through the list of songs as I tried to find one that I knew and that was short.

"I don't really know most of these songs. I'm used to Icelandic music." Finny and Sweden cocked their heads to their sides at my comment. I blinked and said apologetically, "Oh. Sorry, I forgot to tell you. My brother Norway, well I just call him Norge, and I, live in Iceland. We only flew over here about a week ago." I smiled, which is a very rare thing, as I saw the title to a song that I knew very well. I blushed as I pointed at the television screen and asked, "Can.. can I sing this one?"

Finny looked at the song for a second before he smirked. "You can sing whatever you want." _This is so embarrassing._

The song started and I just bobbed my head as I got into the beat, listening to the background singer who started the song by rapping. Sadly, I knew every word to the song, so the words scrolling on the screen were pointless.

I_ know you like me, _

_I know you do. _

_That's why whenever I come around, _

_she's all over you._

I glanced back and saw Finny and Sweden looking at me with amused grins on their faces. _What? Have they never heard a boy sing a Pussycat Doll song before?_ I sang quietly until I got to the chorus, where I abandoned my "stage fright" to boldly sing,

_Don't cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me?_

_Don't cha wish your girlfriend was a freak like me? _

_Don't cha? Don't cha? _

_Don't cha wish your girlfriend was raw like me? _

_Don't cha wish your girlfriend was fun like me? _

_Don't cha? Don't cha?_

I couldn't help letting my hips swing a bit as I got completely submerged into the song. _I'm actually having fun!_

Once the song faded out I smiled slightly again (wow, two smiles in one day). I suddenly turned when I heard clapping. Finny and Sweden were laughing and clapping their hands together. I blushed but I laughed. "That wasn't so bad. I'd never done karaoke until right now. It was fun." Finny's eyes widened when I said I'd never done karaoke before.

"What, are you not allowed to have fun in Iceland, or something? How can you never have gone to a slumber party or done karaoke before? That's just wrong…" He smiled and I yawned. He raised his eyebrows and then slowly nodded his head, looking like he had just figured out something important. "Well," he began, "we do have classes tomorrow, so we should all go to sleep." Sweden and I nodded. I glanced around the room. _There's only two beds here… _Finny smiled again and said, like he had been reading my mind, "You can sleep with me, Ice. Okay?" I nodded again. _Oh good. I do not want to share a bed with Sweden. Yeah, I guess he's nice… but he's still really scary!_

Within five minutes, Sweden was lying in his bed and Finny and I were squished together on to Finny's bed. I felt really awkward, but after a couple minutes, Finny's body heat seemed to make me relax. I was lulled to sleep after lying down for only ten minutes.

I woke up and looked around in the darkness. I was completely disoriented. Finally I found the clock on the bedside table. It read 1:08 AM. _Right. I'm in Finny's and Sweden's room. _Upon thinking that, I realized that I could stretch out my arms. I felt to my side and was surprised to find that Finny was gone. _Where is he? Did he go to the bathroom or something?_ A tiny noise caught my attention. It was a giggle. I listened for a minute before deciding that the giggle was definitely coming from Sweden's bed. _That's odd. Sweden doesn't seem like the type who would giggle_. Then my breath got caught in my throat. _That's… Finny's voice_. I could hear soft words now, though their volume was slowly increasing.

Finny said, "_Su-san_! That tickles! Hehe…" My eyes bulged and I gulped. _Are they…?_

Sweden said, "W'll I t'ld ya t' st'p t'ch'ng m'." Finny laughed louder, and this time I could also hear Sweden's deep voice faintly chuckle.

I decided very quickly that I needed to get out of the room before things really heated up. I crawled off the bed and, using my hands and knees, made my way over to the door. Good thing this room is set up exactly like mine. Or else I'd never have found the door. Now was the difficult part. The room was pitch black, and I knew that when I opened the door to go into the hallway, some light would pour in. _That would be great… Not. I don't want Finny and Sweden to realize I'm awake._

It was good that I was so small, because I knew that I'd only have to open the door a crack, and only for a second. Another good thing was that I knew that the lights that were always on in the hallway were fairly dim. I leaned against the door and put my hand on the doorknob. In a split second I opened the door, jumped into the empty hallway, and closed the door silently. I waited by the door for a minute. Either they didn't notice or they've decided not to do anything about it. I sighed. I looked down the hall towards my room. _Well, I don't have my key, so I'd have to knock if I want to get in._ But I knew that wouldn't work. I was pretty sure that Japan was still in there with Greece. I don't know why I felt that way, but I didn't want to see if I was right.

"Good night," I said to no one as I put my back against the wall in between my room and Finny's and Sweden's room. I slid down the wall and sat crossed-legged on the ground. I closed my eyes and fell into a painful sleep.

**A/N: I hope you all liked this! I had fun writing it, though it took me forever to decide on what songs they should sing! XD (Oh yeah. I don't own those songs and all that, so don't sue me!)**

**Thanks again to walroose, Lycoris1305, and Wisely-san. I also want to thank all of you for reading this.**

**Review, da? It's not hard, I swear! Just take the 10 seconds to send me a review, please!**


	6. First Day

**A/N: I'm back! Here's the next chapter. Thank you everyone for sticking with me, or if you're new, thanks for trying this out. I hope you enjoy! ^^**

**Chapter 6: First Day**

"Ouch!"

I opened my eyes when I felt a hard jab to my side. I was still leaning against the wall in the hallway, which wasn't empty anymore. I looked around at all of the faces that were staring at me. I didn't know any of them, except for the face that belonged to the boy who had kicked me.

"Norge? Why are you here? ...And why did you kick me? And why are so many people staring at me?" I kept my voice calm and cool, but I was really confused. I closed my eyes. _Last night... I went to Finny's and Sweden's room! They were... Yeah, I left in the middle of the night. I couldn't go back to my room because Japan was there, so I slept in the hallway!_ I opened my eyes again after I remembered last night's events. I scrunched my eyebrows. _But why is Norge here? His dorm in two floors below this._

Norge stared at me blankly before he said, "I came to get you. I know yesterday you didn't want to talk to me, but seeing as today's the first day of school I figured I should make sure you didn't sleep in."

_Right, yesterday I got mad at him and he and Denny walked away._ My eyes softened, "I'm sorry about yesterday, Norge. I shouldn't have yelled at you." He smiled a tiny bit and nodded. _I'm glad that Norge isn't mad at me anymore..._ "But, why are people staring at me?"

Norge raised his eyebrows, "Probably because you have the word 'LOSER' written on your forehead in black marker." At that I jumped up. I realized that the boys around me weren't only staring, they were laughing. I knocked on the door to my room and I only had to wait for a second before Greece slowly pulled the door open. He tilted his head.

"Oh. I wondered where you were," Greece said, two cats sitting on his shoulders. I just ignored him as I pushed past him and knocked on the bathroom door. When there was no response I opened it and walked in. I stared at my reflection. _Well, he wasn't lying._ Printed in neat block letters was the word LOSER going all the way across my forehead. It didn't help that my hair stuck up everywhere and I had dark circles under my eyes. I groaned and then walked out of the bathroom to check the clock that was sitting next to my bed; 7:43 AM.

"_What!_" I screamed. My first class started at 8:00 AM and I definitely needed to take a shower and eat breakfast. _I still haven't eaten anything since yesterday at breakfast time._ I grabbed my uniform and hopped into the shower for about three minutes. I spent the entire time scrubbing at my forehead, trying desperately to get the marker off. _Fjandinn! Why did they have to use a permanent marker?_ I thought when I stepped out of the shower and saw that, although the letters were illegible, my forehead was still obviously tinted a weird black-ish color. I put on my uniform, which fit me perfectly. I stepped out of the bathroom and sat on my bed as I started to tug on my knee-high white boots, tucking my black pants into them. As I finished lacing my second boot I looked at the clock again: 7:51 AM. _Wow, I've never gotten ready so fast._ I rushed back into the bathroom to comb my soaking wet hair (to save time I didn't even bother using my towel to try and dry it) and brush my teeth. I grabbed my black backpack and checked the clock for a third time: 7:54 AM. _Oh well, I guess I can wait until lunch to eat..._ I ran out the door.

The hallway was empty. Norge and Greece had left and so did all of the boys who had been laughing at me. I sprinted to the staircase. My first class of the day was Algebra, which was on the first floor of the school. _Why does my room have to be on the fifth floor?_ I had walked around the school to all of my classes tons of times during the week, and it took about 5 minutes for me to _walk_ to my Algebra classroom. I ran the whole way there and I got to the class panting. As I slid in through the door and into an empty seat in the first row, I looked at the clock that was hung over the door: 7:57. I sighed as I leaned back into my chair. _Well, at least I made it._

I spent my algebra class looking either out the window or at the faces of the students who sat near me. I didn't know anybody in the class, so I had no one to talk to, and my teacher spent the forty-five minute block just explaining what kinds of things we were going to learn and her classroom rules. I was relieved that we didn't do any actual work, and my only homework was just to get the class contract filled out. It was basically a piece of paper that I had to read (which I didn't) that had my teacher's expectations and rules about homework and class behavior.

I stood up once the bell rang and rushed out the door. Of course, my second class, English, was on the fifth floor. My dorm was in the West Wing, but in the main part of the school there were classrooms on each floor. So, instead of using the side staircase that I take to get to my dorm, I used the main staircase that brought me right up to the part of the fifth floor where the classrooms are. There is only five minutes between each class, so I had to run up the stairs (which was hard because of all of the other students going up and down them). I got into my classroom seconds before the late bell rang.

This class went the same as the first, even with the same type of homework where I just have to sign my name and fill out my e-mail address and that kind of stuff. My third class, History, which was back down on the second floor, was pretty fun. Greece was in this class, so I sat next to him. Our teacher, Mr. Rome, was a young and handsome man (not that _I_ thought he was handsome... it was just the girls in my class!) who seemed really relaxed about class and stuff. He actually brought our class to sit in the grass in front of the school as he introduced us to the topics we were going to learn. The class sounded interesting, and I was excited to learn history from an American's point of view. _I'm sure their views are different from the things I learned back in Iceland._

My fourth class was actually a study/ free block in the library on the fourth floor. I spent the first five minutes of my class filling out my classroom contracts and things that my teachers had given me, then I sat back and looked around the library. _I have no other homework, so I could just read a book or something_. But in the end I decided to draw pictures on some blank notebook paper. I had just finished shading a picture of Norge and Denny, Norge rolling his eyes as Denny stood in the background with his head on fire, when the bell rang. I laughed as I folded the doodle and stuffed it into my backpack. _If only, if only..._

My fifth class of the day was Gym, which was, obviously, on the first floor. I've never liked Gym, because I'm so weak that the other boys made fun of me. In the locker room I'd admire the rippling muscles on the other boys' chests, and frown when I looked down at my own pale skin. I had nearly no muscle, so I get really self-conscious. Since it was only the first day we didn't have to change into our gym clothes, but I was already embarrassed I looked at my class, which was all male, and I noticed how _hot_ they all were. (Though it's not like I was checking them out... it was just an innocent observation.) Each and every one of them seemed to have strong builds and looked like they were in perfect shape. I was glad to see that Finny and Sweden were in my class, though. At least I _knew_ them. _Not that that makes it easier for me to change in front of them..._

After our gym teacher gave us a speech about sportsmanship, showed us where the locker room was, and passed out the school-provided gym clothes, we were able to talk for the rest of the class. Finny came up to me, looking slightly embarrassed. He said, "Sorry about last night... I, uh, we, uh..."

"It's cool. Don't worry about it," I assured in a plain voice. His eyes were grateful for a moment, but then went back to the same look of guilt that they had had the second before.

"But I really am sorry about what happened. Especially when I heard that someone wrote on your forehead... Sweden and I left our dorm to grab a quick breakfast just a minute after somebody woke you up. I swear I would have woken you up if I had seen you. I thought that you had just woken up early and had already gone back to your room when I got up this morning." He looked down at the ground.

"Yah, I'm s'rry too," Sweden softly whispered. He was standing right behind Finny and he looked just as guilty as his boyfriend. _I just mentally called one man another man's boyfriend. Weird. But for some reason, I feel like that's normal for this school..._

I smiled a little bit (though most people probably wouldn't know to call it that). "Really it's fine. I can be a really deep sleeper, so I guess it wouldn't have been hard for someone to write on me without waking me up. Besides, my older brother Norge made sure to check on me, so I made it to my first class on time." Suddenly my stomach grumbled really loudly. All three of us looked at my stomach and I blushed furiously. "Sorry, I haven't eaten since yesterday at breakfast time."

Finny and Sweden looked horrified. Finny gasped before he said, "What? Why didn't you say anything yesterday? I'm sure we could have gotten some kind of food last night..." I just laughed and shrugged. Then the bell rang, which signified that it was time for lunch. Finny's face brightened as he asked, "Do you want to sit with us at lunch today?"

I stared for a minute with a shocked expression. Both Sweden and Finny raised one eyebrow each, so I clarified myself by saying, "No one's ever asked me to sit with them... I would, but I think I want to see where Norge sits. He'll probably be with Denny, since that freak won't stop harassing him... Would it be okay if they sat with us, too? I'd have to ask them if they want to first, but..." Finny nodded excitedly and Sweden nodded once. _I'm glad these guys are so nice to me. I could get used to having friends._

Once I entered the restaurant-like cafeteria, my eyes began to search. It wasn't hard for me to spot a tall boy dragging a much smaller one behind him. I shouted, "Norge! Over here!" He and Denny looked up and saw me. They immediately marched over, Denny with a huge grin on his face and Norge looking really mad about something. "What's gotten into him?" I asked Denny.

Denny laughed, "Norge and I have _every_ class together! Now I can hang out with my little buddy all day!" He hugged Norge's arm. Norge looked up into the man's gorgeous eyes (ummm... okay, I'll admit to thinking that Denny's eyes were a pretty color). Denny looked back and smiled.

Then Norge punched Denny in the shoulder.

It wasn't a playful punch, it was a punch that I was positive would leave a bruise. Denny frowned (which up until now I had thought was impossible) as he looked at my brother, who in turn was smirking. Denny's gaze lingered for a moment before he smiled again and punched Norge back, though with considerably less force. Norge returned the blow with another one to Denny's arm, except this time his punch was also one that wasn't meant to actually hurt him.

I watched the two continue for a few seconds before I remembered that Finny and Sweden were standing a couple of feet behind me. I cleared my throat before I stepped between the two men. That instantly stopped them, since neither wanted to hurt me. _I need to remember that..._ "So guys, these are my friends Finny and Sweden. They have the room next to mine and we had a little... _party_ last night. Finny and Sweden, this is my brother Norge and his roommate Denny." The four shook hands and smiled (except Norge never really smiles, so he just looked less angry than usual). "Norge, if you guys didn't have anyone else you wanted to sit with at lunch, would you like to hang out with us?"

Norge nodded and Denny said, "Dude, that would be awesome! We can have a little Scandinavian table or something. I love it!" He laughed as our group picked its way to a table. Sweden and Finny told the three of us to get our lunches while they made sure no one else took our table. I nodded and Norge, Denny, and I got in line to get food.

While we ate we all talked about our classes and the usual boring stuff. After, Finny told Norge and Denny all about how we sang karaoke last night. They just nodded as he talked about his duet with Sweden, but when Finny told them about my song choice, Denny burst out laughing. Milk poured out his nose and all over his blazer, but that just made him laugh more, to the point that he was actually crying. Norge snickered and I knew that I could never live that one down. _Great, now he has some perfect blackmail to use against me!_

After Denny cleaned himself up, Norge turned to me and asked, "So, why did you sleep in the hall last night." Finny's face turned red, but I answered quickly.

"Oh, well I left their dorm around 11:30, but I had left my key in my room and Greece hates it if I wake him up. I didn't think you'd be happy either, if I knocked on your door, so I just slept in the hallway." I spoke in a dry voice, but when I finished I caught Finny's eyes. He seemed relieved that I hadn't told them what _really_ happened.

We finished lunch with some plain small talk. At 1:10 PM the bell rang and I got up to go to the third floor. When I got there I found a seat at one of the long tables. I was happy, because I finally got to have Art class. As the classroom filled up with more strangers (though I now recognized some of them because they were in other classes with me) nobody sat near me. Every seat was filled except for the one on my left, the one on my right, and the three that were directly across from me. _There's five empty seats? This must be a really small class...or everyone hates me._ Just before the late bell rang, a boy dashed in and sat at the seat that was opposite mine. I studied his face for a moment before I realized that it was Japan.

He smiled at me and I slowly smiled back at him. Our teacher, Ms. Wy walked in. She was very perky and seemed happy to meet everyone. She's extremely young, has an Australian accent, and my class is the first one that she gets to teach. The class went by really fast and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Ms. Wy let us pack up our stuff early and, while we all moved to stand by the door, Japan came up to me. We hadn't spoken all of class, but I liked him. When he spoke, he was very articulate and polite sounding. He said, "Ice-san, I am very sorry and embarrassed about what happened last evening. I don't know what got over me, but I assure you that it won't happen again."

I laughed and said, "I'm pretty sure Greece got _all_ over you. But seriously, it was no big problem. I don't care what the two of you do, as long as you stay out of my bed." I spoke with an uncharacteristically joking tone. _This guy takes everything really seriously. It's actually pretty funny, considering how laid back Greece is. I wonder how the two of them work so well together..._ The bell rang and I left to go to the first floor for my seventh, and final, class of the day; Biology.

I walked into the room and sat down at the first seat closest to the door. I turned around and saw that right behind me was the last person I wanted to see. Hong Kong. His dark brown eyes, which were like pools of chocolate (...fine, I guess I just like looking at eyes, don't judge me), glared at me. I knew I should have look away, but I couldn't. It took about a minute of me staring into his eyes before I was able to face forward again. _I should try to find another seat somewhere else..._ My thought was cut off when the late bell rang and my teacher walked in. He is young (like all of the other staff members at the school, which is really weird), has spiky blond hair, and has a small scar on his forehead. To best describe the man who now stood in front of me, I could only say: perfect. He was like a god among men. He looked so perfect, so cool, so _breathtaking_. I couldn't look away, my eyes widening.

_Woah, wait. He's my _teacher_! What's wrong with me? I don't like men._

_Or... do I?_

**A/N: Poor Iceland! He's so confused! Silly little boy. Well, thanks for reading this newest chapter! I hope that reading it is at least half as enjoyable as writing it, cuz I love writing this! OH! Well, according to Google, fjandinn is Icelandic for damn. I hope that's right!**

**Thanks again to walroose, Lycoris1305, and Wisely-san. Of course, thanks to everyone who reads, reviews, and favorites this. I love you guys so much!**

**Which reminds me, review, da? Come on! I'm so desperate. What, do I have to beg or something? XD**


	7. Unanswered Questions

**A/N: So, I'm sorry if this chapter stinks. I had some problems writing it (as in I wrote about a page and a half and then deleted most of it!) Also, I hope that I'm not rushing things with Norge and Denny, but please tell me if you think I am! ^^' **

**Chapter 7: Unanswered Questions**

_I don't like men._

_Or... do I?_

The thought of me actually liking another man in a romantic way scared me beyond belief. I've heard lots of stories about gay kids being bullied so much that they actually committed suicide. Though I'd never bully someone based on their sexual orientation, because I see nothing wrong with same-sex couples, I didn't want to believe that _I_ could be gay. I'm not a homophobe, but I was ashamed to admit to myself that there was a chance that I liked guys. _Well, I've never had a crush on a girl before... and I _kind of _check out guys... all the time..._ It made perfect sense. My brain told me that I was gay, but I wouldn't listen to it. I thought back to everything that had happened over the past couple of days. _This school seems to have a lot of homosexuals. I know that Greece and Japan are a couple and they're both guys, and the same thing with Finny and Sweden. I also think that Denny has a crush Norge, but..._ My brain froze. _Is Norge gay?_ I'd never asked him about any romantic feelings he may have had towards someone, female or male. He would always roll his eyes when Denny clung on to him, but he didn't push him away, either. _That's weird; Norge would always run away from me if I even tried to hold his hand when we crossed the street when I was little. I've never been "allowed" to hug his arm _(not that I'd ever, ever, want to do something as stupid as that) _but he let Denny, a stranger, hold him all he wanted..._ My thoughts paused_. Norge _is_ gay._ I had no problems accepting the fact that my brother, the only person left on this world who had ever cared about me, liked men. But if I thought of myself liking men, I felt sick.

All of these thoughts and realizations happened within about ten seconds in my head, because the sexy beast of a man (my teacher) had only gone around to the blackboard and written his name on it before I looked back up. In big, blocky, letters, the board said: "Mr. Netherlands". He turned around, sat on his desk, and smiled at us, his toothy grin making my heart beat faster against my ribcage. He looked at all of his students before he said, "Hello class. My name is Mr. Netherlands, but you guys should all just call me Mr. N. 'Kay?" He didn't wait for an answer before saying, "We're going to learn a lot of really cool science-y things this year. This is my first year teaching, and you're the only Biology class I have this time. I teach other science subjects, but only to fourth year students. You guys get to be my guinea pigs for all of my Biology lessons, so this is gonna be fun! To start off today I want to give you all an ungraded 'quiz' just so I can get a feel of what people already know." There were some groans at the mention of a quiz. "Seriously? It's not that hard and you don't even have to put your names on it, so stop worrying about it." He got up and started to hand out the 'quiz' to everyone.

_Looks easy enough..._ Once all of the quizzes were passed out Mr. N went back to his desk and said, "Okay, begin!"

Although the quiz was easy, it took the entire forty-five minute class for everyone to finish. Mr. N didn't assign any homework, which meant that I had nothing to do after class today. Once the bell rang, signifying the end of the day, I stood up to leave. I was stretching my back when Hong Kong came up to me and looked at the floor. He said, "I'm sorry for writing on your forehead this morning. My friend South Korea dared me to do it when we saw you slumped against the wall in the hallway." His words were rushed and once he finished he disappeared. I was shocked. _He's the skíthæll that wrote on me!_ I stood there and stared out the door. I didn't realize how long I had remained in that position, though, because suddenly a large hand was on my shoulder. I flinched and then tensed up. I slowly turned my head and saw Mr. N smiling at me.

"H-hi," I whispered. Being so close to him made me nervous.

"Is something wrong? You've been standing here for a couple of minutes staring out the door." I shook my head and quickly shouldered my backpack.

"It's nothing, I just heard something surprising..." I wanted to run out of the room, but I didn't want to be rude.

"Well if there's anything I can do, don't be afraid to ask. I'll usually be in my classroom or the teacher's room if you ever need me." He smiled again and I nearly died inside. I smiled back and nodded.

"Thanks, I'll remember that. ...Well, I have to go. See you tomorrow." I nodded again.

Mr. N laughed and I blushed slightly. "See you tomorrow. Oh wait! I'm sorry, what was your name?"

I had already reached the door (no, I _wasn't_ running away), but I stopped to answer, without turning around. "My name is Iceland." And with that I disappeared.

I went to my dorm to drop off my backpack before I went to room 350. I knocked on the door and Norge opened it a bit. He peered through the small crack before he recognized it was me. He pulled the door open and said, "Hi Ice." I walked in and saw Denny sitting on his own bed, a laptop resting on his crossed legs. He looked up when I came in.

"Hey Ice! What's up, dude? Check it. Norge and I got no homework tonight, so we were going to watch a movie or something on my computer." He said that sentence like it meant nothing, but I knew better than to fall for that. _The only place where the two of them could sit together would be on one of their beds... Oh Guð! Denny wants to get Norge in his bed! I mean, what they do at night is their own business, but they barely know each other! He's such a perv!_ I stared at him, and he looked at me with a confused expression. Norge tilted his head at me, too. _Obviously they don't know how suggestive that idea seems to me._ I just shrugged and let the idea slip to the back of my mind. Denny looked at me for another moment before he asked, "So... do you want to watch it with us?" I nodded. _I _could_ try and sit between them... but I won't. I want to see how Norge really feels about Denny. _

Denny and Norge sat next to each other and I sat next to Norge, all of us on Denny's bed with our back pressed against the wall. Denny's laptop sat in front of Norge, and we all had to sit really close together so that we could all see the screen. _Really, _really_, close,_ I thought as I looked at Denny, Norge leaning slightly into his chest. That's the thing about Norge, he either really likes you or really hates you, and he decides which within five minutes of meeting you. _I would have bet good money that Norge was going to hate Denny. I guess he made a really good first impression..._

While we were selecting a movie, I let Denny and Norge pick. I was really surprised when they both agreed on the 2011 romantic-comedy "Friends With Benefits". _That _definitely_ doesn't hint at how they feel about each other._ The movie was alright, though I don't really like watching romances, but I was more interested in watching Norge as he slowly began to lean more and more into Denny, whose smile widened every time the two shifted a bit closer. _It's like they forgot that I'm here!_ I sat with an amused smirk on my face, though it had nothing to do with the movie. _Norge must really like him. Although I'm not a big fan of the idiot, I don't want to ruin this for Norge. Right now... Norge actually seems happy._ Which was a rare thing. Since the funeral... Well, let's just say that Norge hasn't been a happy person for the past few years.

The movie ended and I could see that both Denny and Norge looked a bit upset to have to get up. They looked so comfy, Norge's back against Denny's arm and chest. I stood up before they could move and I smirked as I spoke. "Well, don't let me ruin your little moment. Thanks for the movie; I guess I'll see you at dinner." I walked out of the room, Norge's eyes wide as he fully realized how close he and Denny were. As I closed the door, both men were jumping off the bed, their faces glowing red.

I went back to my dorm, making sure to knock first. "Ummm... could you wait just a minute?" I heard Greece say slowly. I blinked, dirty thoughts of what Greece (and Japan) could be doing running through my head.

"Take your time!" I called back. _Darn it, that was probably a bad choice of words. Greece is so slow at everything, I don't want to know how slow he is when he takes his time._ I internally gave myself a facepalm as I stood outside my dorm room door. After about a minute the door was pulled open. I took in the room as I entered. Three cats were sitting on Greece's desk, Greece wasn't wearing a shirt, and Japan was sitting on the bed, buttoning the last button on his blazer. Both had red faces and were slightly panting. I just nodded and said nothing at the suggestive scene. (Who am I kidding? It wasn't suggestive, the room just screamed the fact that the two had just had sex!)

"H-hello, Ice-san. I'm sorry we have to meet under such awkward circumstances." Japan's face was extremely red and he looked quite upset. I just waved my hand to tell him it was okay. He made a small bow and asked, "Greece, will I see you at dinner?" Greece quickly nodded with enthusiasm (and yes, I said he nodded _quickly_). Japan bowed again and left.

Greece looked longingly towards the door that Japan had just walked out of and said, "I love him." He then turned and slowly said, as he walked into the bathroom, "I'm gonna take a shower. I'll see you later." With that he closed the door and I was left alone.

_Everyone around me is gay! ..But they seem happy._ Like Norge, it's been a long time since I've been really happy. _Why can't I be happy? _The question seemed to hang in the air, even though I didn't actually voice it. Instead of answering myself, I looked around. I still had a few hours before dinner, I had no homework, and I didn't have anyone to talk to. _I could try Finny and Sweden, but I don't want to burden them two days in a row._ I looked around the room, finding nothing of interest. _I could sleep, read a book, draw..._ Nothing seemed too appealing, so I sat on my bed for a minute, thinking, looking at my hands.

While staring at my hands I saw a tiny scrape. _I must have gotten that yesterday when I climbed that tree..._ I jumped up. I smiled and left the room. I went downstairs and out the front door, crossing the grass towards the forest. _I should climb that tree again. It has a great view and I need to think about some things..._ (Said things meaning my sexual orientation and how I should react to Norge and Denny possibly being in a relationship.)

It took a bit longer to find my tree this time, since yesterday I had wandered there by accident. Once I got there, though, I smiled up at the already familiar branches. I climbed up to the same branch I had gone up to yesterday and straddled the bark. I looked out at the school and leaned my back against the tree trunk. I closed my eyes and let out a deep sigh.

_So, I never answered my question: do I like men?_ Creepily, the question triggered an image of Mr. N to appear in my mind. His smile shone and his laugh tickled my mind as I remembered my beautiful teacher. Then his image faded and I let my mind wander. The question still bounced around my skull when suddenly I could see Hong Kong. The image wasn't one of him scowling at me, but it was an image of what he looked like when we first met, when I had spilled tea all over him. The image was of him when he had taken his shirt off.

My heart beat faster and I opened my eyes. _Whoa. What was that about?_ I tried to think of a reasonable excuse as to why I would have thought of Hong Kong, but I was distracted when I heard voices coming from somewhere nearby in the forest.

I wasn't alone.

**A/N: I hope you liked this! **

**Okay, I just want to say thanks to walroose, Lycoris1305, Wisely-san, and all of my readers! I love you all! Oh, I don't own "Friends With Benefits" (I've never even seen it) so don't sue me!**

**So, according to Google,**__**skíthæll is Icelandic for jerk or bastard or the like, and Guð is Icelandic for God. I hope those are correct! XD**

**Review, da? Please, please, please! (See, I'm begging! I really want feedback!) **


	8. Things Seen

**A/N: Here's the latest chapter. I hope I won't disappoint anyone, but I had a bit of trouble writing this one. It jumps around a bit, but I think that my next chapter will get back on track. Enjoy~! XD**

**Chapter 8: Things Seen**

I wasn't alone.

From my perch in the tree I could hear two voices; a high one and a low one. The higher voice one was still deep enough that I knew it was a man's. I tried to tune in my ears so that I could hear what exactly was being said, which was easy considering the voices kept moving closer. I froze when I realized that the voices had stopped moving, and were now coming from directly underneath me. _I think whoever's here is standing under _this_ tree!_ I was still sitting on the thick tree branch, but I pressed myself closer to the tree trunk and pulled my legs into a cross-legged position.

Looking through the branches below me, I could see two boys, one clearly a lot taller than the other. I sighed when I recognized them as Finny and Sweden. I was about to call down to them, but I stopped because Sweden was suddenly leaning into Finny, kissing him on the lips. My heart beat faster. _How do I _always_ end up in these positions? Do men just like to have sex when they know I'm nearby?_ I used the word sex because as I watched (in a mix of horror and excitement) Finny unbuttoned Sweden's blazer and was putting his hands up the other man's shirt. Sweden did the same, only Finny had already had taken his blazer off elsewhere, so Sweden was unbuttoning Finny's shirt... and pants.

I had to stay in the tree (though I kept my eyes trained towards the school and not the ground) for nearly an hour, listening to _everything_ that was going on. I had my hands on my ears but, seeing as we weren't in the school and the couple had no reason to believe that anybody was nearby, the two were much, _much_, louder than they had been the night before in their dorm room. I tried to think about things that would distract me from the boys on the ground, but the only thing I could think of was Norge and Denny, and them doing similar things. _There's definitely something wrong with me..._

No matter how much I tried, I couldn't drown out the desperate words that Finny was saying to Sweden. "Oh Su-san! ...I love you... ...Su-san, more, MORE..." Finny was pleading in a voice that expressed how much he was enjoying himself. I shuddered and I could hear Sweden laugh. Finny moaned more, which caused Sweden to grunt louder in turn.

I had to admit that as a couple the two were cute, but I was too utterly appalled to think of that at the moment. _What is it with this school? If I didn't know any better, I'd say that there's something being added to the food that turns every guy on... Or it's almost like the school only lets in gay guys. I wonder what the girls here are like. I haven't had the chance to really talk to any of them. Are they all gay to? I wouldn't hold it past this school..._

I let my thoughts take this course until, finally, Sweden scooped up the sleeping Finny, got both of them dressed, and left towards the school. I waited for about ten minutes before I climbed down the tree. I stopped in a branch six feet above the ground and stared at the forest floor. I could see the indentations of where the boys had positioned themselves, and I could have sworn there was still some slimy... _residue_, mixed among the leaves. _Oh Guð!_ I jumped from the tree and landed much softer than I had last time. I walked back to the school, though I cut through the forest so that if anyone had been watching, they'd see that I came out about thirty feet to the right of where Sweden and Finny would have exited (had Sweden taken the straight path). _I'm so paranoid._

I got to the school and went back to Norge's room. I knocked on the door. _I've seen enough lewd images today; I really don't want to walk in on them if they're... "getting to know each other better". _This time Denny answered, opening the door immediately as he saw my blank stare.

"HEY! I'm glad you came back, come on in. Dinner isn't for another hour, so you can hang here with us and then we can all go together." Norge was sitting on his bed, reading a book. He had a scowl set into his face. _I bet he's still upset about my comment I made earlier about him and Denny._

Norge suddenly jumped up and walked over to me, putting his hand on my head. I backed away, asking, "What are you doing?" Norge's frown deepened.

"You're really pale. Well, paler than you usually are. Are you feeling okay?" This got Denny' attention, who walked over to me, wide eyed. He tilted his head to the side and looked at me with concern, nodding to agree with what Norge was saying. In the tree I had been bright red in the face, but since I came down I had paled as everything from today began to really settle in.

I kept my voice cool and dry as I responded, "I'm fine. Don't worry about it." Norge rolled his eyes at me; he's always been able to tell when I was lying. In truth, I felt sick to my stomach. I'd seen too much for one day, and I still hadn't been able to answer my question: _do I like men?_ More than anything, I wanted to break down and tell Norge everything that was going through my mind: Greece and Japan, Mr. N, Finny and Sweden, him and Denny, and even Hong Kong. But I'd never had any help with my problems before. I had to get through this on my own. So I just took a step back away from Norge's hand. He rolled his eyes again and went back over to his bed. Denny smiled and shook his head.

"Cool, Ice. Why don't we leave Norge here to sulk while we have some fun?" Denny grabbed my arm and yanked me out the door.

After we (as in, only Denny) harassed people for an hour, we went back to room 350 and got Norge. We walked to the cafeteria and got in line to get food. I wasn't in the mood to talk with Finny or Sweden, so I suggested that the three of us should just sit at the nearest table. They didn't complain, though Norge raised one of his eyebrows.

We ate our main dish and then got up to go and get some dessert. I filled a bowl with licorice, Norge got some apple cake, and Denny had some vanilla cake and coffee (in which he poured a ton of sugar and milk). When we got back to our table, Norge snorted at the coffee. "How can you drink that stuff? It's disgusting and bitter." I nodded; _our hatred for coffee is one of the few things that we've always agreed on._

Denny pouted. "Have you ever tried it? It's really good! Here, just take a sip." He stuffed the cup under Norge's nose, who pulled away.

"You couldn't _pay_ me to drink that junk. Especially after all of that sugar you dumped into it..."

Denny cut off Norge's rant with a seductive smile. "What if I let you drink it from my mouth?" He wiggled his eyebrows and I spat out the piece of black licorice I had been chewing. Norge also spluttered before he stood up. He walked right up to Denny, and slapped him in the face. Denny and I stared at Norge, shocked. Denny's left hand drifted to his chin and, as he rubbed the sore spot, he said, "I, I'm sorry. I was just joking..."

Norge was red in the face and he looked at the ground. "Yeah, well you shouldn't say such rude things... especially in front of my little brother!" This statement surprised me. _It's like Norge is using me as an excuse... like Denny's suggestion wasn't a bad one, he just can't believe that he'd say it in front of me! _I studied Norge's face, but, other than the red tint, it remained emotionless and plain. _If he was alone with Denny, I think he would have taken him up on that offer!_ I laughed a tiny bit to myself.

"I really _am_ sorry Norge! I didn't think about that!" Denny's eyes and voice were pleading, like what he had done was the worst thing in the world and that Norge would hate him forever because of it. Denny glanced at me and looked a bit confused (probably because I was laughing and he didn't know why). He looked back to Norge and grabbed his hand, which rested on the table. Norge's face became a deeper shade of red, but he kept his eyes on the ground. _He's not pulling his hand away..._ Denny rubbed small circles on Norge's hand with his thumb. "Do you forgive me?" His words were a whisper; a ghost of the shouts that normally rang from his voice.

Norge finally looked at him and said, "Of course I forgive you, it's not like you really did anything wrong... sorry for hitting you..." He spoke with an especially dry voice, but the last part came out in earnest. He looked at the hand that was still rubbing his and I saw the ends of his lips curl into a fraction of a smile. Then his eyes darted to mine, which were trained on their hands, and so he pulled his hand free.

"Ha, that was a good hit! I hope I don't do anything to make you really angry!" Denny was talking in his loud voice again, and Norge rolled his eyes like usual. Their tender moment was gone and they both seemed to ignore the fact that it happened, but I had a feeling that neither would forget this for a long time.

After we left the cafeteria, Denny and Norge went back to their dorm and I went to my own room. I knocked on the door and was relieved when Greece (slowly) pulled it open, no Japan in sight. (It's not that I don't like Japan, it's just really awkward for me when I go into my room knowing that the two had just been having sex.) I smiled at Greece, who was petting one of his four cats. I brushed my teeth and got ready for bed. I was exhausted and it had only been one day. _But so much has happened!_ I laid down on my bed and jumped when suddenly the lights turned off.

I heard Greece laugh slightly as he slowly said, "Sorry. I thought you were going to sleep. I can turn the lights back on if you want..."

"No, I was planning on going to bed now. Good night." I sighed as I settled into the cool sheets. I wiggled my toes and let my tired eyes close. I was so ready to be swallowed up by sleep, but my mind wouldn't shut down. All of the day's events flashed before me. The most prominent memories were those of Norge and Denny. _It used to be Norge and I against the world. Now _he's_ here. I mean, I like seeing Norge so happy, but I feel like he hasn't been paying as much attention to me... Huh! I, I, I think I'm jealous of Denny! _I was disgusted at myself. _Norge deserves to be happy; he deserves it more than anyone. Who am I to try and ruin that? Denny is pretty loud and annoying, but somehow he's captured Norge's heart. The only thing I want in life is for Norge to be happy._

_I've already given up on trying to find my own happiness..._

That was my last thought before sleep overwhelmed my consciousness.

**A/N: I'm sorry! This chapter is a bit scatterbrained, but I think the next one will be better. Oh, bonus points to those who recognized the line where Denmark says, "What if I let you drink it from my mouth?" as a line that Tamaki said in the first episode of Ouran High School Host Club. (Well, I think that's a direct quote, but I'm not 100% sure!)**

**Thanks to everyone who's been reading this whole thing. And, of course, a huge thanks to walroose, Lycoris1305, and Wisely-san cuz you guys are super awesome! But really, a big thanks to all of you peeps who added this to your favorites and who left a review.**

**So you'll all review, da? That would make me happy, and a happy me writes better stories! **


	9. Painting the Past

**A/N: SORRY! I didn't mean to take this long to finish this, and I don't have any excuses. I guess I'm just kinda lazy and all that stuff. I know I'm a bad person for not trying harder, but whatevs. Haterz gonna hate. If you hate me now, I understand! XD**

**Chapter 9: Painting the Past**

The next few days passed by in a similar fashion. (Though there was no sex, that I know of, and I actually started getting some homework.) Now it was the weekend, Saturday to be precise, and I had already finished my homework. My room was empty because Greece and Japan had gone for a walk around the school grounds. I wanted to go see Norge, since I'd only seen him at meal times during the week, but I wanted to stay away so that he could get closer to Denny. _I may not really like the idea of Denny swapping spit with my brother, but for the moment I want... whatever it is that they have... to go naturally. I can't interfere._ So I decided to go to the library.

I was on my way to the library when I passed by an open classroom. I looked inside and saw that the room was an art room. Just as I passed by, a figure appeared in the doorway and stepped right into my path. I only caught the motion out of the corner of my eye, so I didn't have time to stop before we collided. We both fell to the ground. "I'm sorry, I wasn't loo-" I stopped when I looked at the boy who had walked into me.

Hong Kong.

He was looking at me, flustered. "No, it was my fault... _this_ time." He looked me straight in the eye, and then did something I hadn't expected. He laughed. I was taken aback by how light and easy it came. He looked my full body over before his laughter died down and he said, "Oh. I think I ruined your shoes..."  
>I looked at (what had been) my perfectly clean, white, knee-high boots. Now there was red paint <em>all<em> over them. It was then that I noticed the painting that Hong Kong had been holding. It was an amazingly detailed red dragon with golden accents. The canvas had finely printed Chinese characters all over the border. (Well, that's what I _assumed_ it had looked like before we crashed into each other and he dropped it. Now the red paint was smeared everywhere, including my boots.) I opened my mouth but no words came out. _My... my boots!_ I was too stunned to think, never mind move or talk.

"I guess that's my bad. I should have waited for the paint to fully dry before I moved it." Hong Kong sighed and looked at his painting, visibly upset. "I made that for my friend, China. We're like brothers... and it's his birthday tomorrow! My art teacher let me spend all night in her classroom finishing that, and now it's ruined!" Suddenly his sadness was replaced by a surge of anger. "I thought I told you to leave me alone. Can you answer this question: how is it that you keep finding ways to ruin my life?"

_Is he seriously blaming me? He was the one who just said that it was _his_ fault._ "How is this my fault! Look at my boots!" Hong Kong's cold words helped me find my voice, which hinted at a bit of emotion.

He scoffed and rolled his eyes. "So what? I have to make another painting! You can just buy new bo-"

I cut him off, raising my voice a bit, which was really unusual for me. "NO! You don't understand what these boots mean to me! My brother bought them for me! They're my most prized possession!" My hands had slowly balled into fists, and I suddenly found that both Hong Kong and I were standing. _I don't even remember getting up..._ My eyebrows were furrowed in anger.

Most people think that my boots are just a "fashion-statement" or whatever they call it. But they don't know what these boots symbolize to me. Norge bought them for me a few years back, but they were too big for me. But I kept them clean and every month I would try them on until, finally, last year they fit. Thankfully, my feet haven't grown since then, so I wear these boots nearly every day. The white leather is thick and soft. The rubber soles have plenty of traction. The laces haven't even begun to shred anywhere. They were beautifully crafted and meant to last a long time.

I loved them.

But as I was starting to say earlier, they're more to me than just some fancy footwear. Because when Norge bought them, I had had nothing in my life. No hope, no happiness. Nothing. He bought them a week after our parents died. I had just been released from the hospital and Norge was waiting for me at home. Since neither of us could drive (obviously) and we have no other living family members, our kind neighbor picked me up and brought me home. I had been a bit sad when he came to get me and Norge wasn't with him, but when I got home I found Norge making me a special dinner. After we had eaten he gave me the boots. He was a bit upset when I tried them on and they didn't fit, but I had only laughed and told him that I would care for them until I could wear them. They were my first glimmer of hope that life could still continue without my parents.

Those boots had saved me. I had nearly lost my will to live while I was in that hospital, but Norge reminded me that there could still be kindness in the world.

So now I stood there, staring at Hong Kong. _He just destroyed my boots... and I can't fix them. After years of treating them as if my breath alone could ruin them, this _hálfviti_ dumps paint on them! And then blames _me_ for messing up his picture!_ I wanted to cry.

But I haven't been able to cry since my parents' funeral. I had cried every tear possible after they died, until they're coffins were put under the ground. Not a single teardrop has fallen from my eyes since then.

Hong Kong stared back at me with equal intensity. _Well, I have to admit that I would be upset if I spent so much time on a painting and then dropped it. But it's his own fault!_ He opened his mouth, "That's really lame. Those boots are your most prized possession? Wow."

I wanted to hit him.

Instead I clenched my teeth and said, "Yes, but they aren't just boots to me. Norge got them for me after our parents were killed in a car crash..." I had so much more I could say, but he didn't deserve to know. _He'd probably find some way to use it against me..._ But Hong Kong's eyes lightened a little.

"I'm sorry about your parents... Come on. I think I might be able to get the paint off your boots." He turned and went back into the art classroom he had walked out of. I hesitated a second before I followed him. _We _are_ partners for that competition thingy, so I guess I should go against my better judgment and try to trust him._

The room was brightly lit, with one wall completely made up of windows. There were long work tables with stools lined up around them, like Ms. Wy's room. At the front of the class was a big teacher's desk with a desktop computer placed on one corner. The walls were littered with artwork from students. Hong Kong had moved to the back of the classroom where the sinks were located. He disappeared into a storage closet for a minute, returning with a plastic knife and some vinegar (though I didn't know why there would be vinegar in an art room closet). "You're going to be careful, right? I mean, you have a knife... Just, please be careful." He nodded and pointed at my boots.

"Can you take them off? That would make this a lot easier." His blank eyes showed as much emotion as mine.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry..." A tiny flush appeared on my ears. I unlaced my boots and, standing there in my socks, handed the boots over to Hong Kong. He held the knife in his right hand and one boot in his left hand. Using the wrong side of the knife (as in the top of the blade, the non-serrated part), he quickly began to scrape off the still-wet paint. Most of the thick paint came off, but the white leather was still stained a reddish-pink shade. But I didn't say anything as Hong Kong started to do the same to the other boot. After having scraped both boots clean, he went over to the sink and grabbed a sponge. He proceeded to pour vinegar on to the sponge (making sure to hold the sponge over the sink so that he didn't spill vinegar everywhere). He took one boot into his left hand again and he began to scrub.

_Yeah, like this will work._ But my eyes widened as he pulled the boot away, after a minute, and inspected it. "It's gone." It wasn't the most intelligible sentence, but it was all that I could say because I was so shocked. _The stain is completely gone!_ Hong Kong smiled, clearly pleased, as he gingerly placed the clean boot on the counter and picked up the second boot. _For someone who hates my guts, Hong Kong is being really nice._

As he finished cleaning the second boot I looked around the room again. I glanced at the art on the walls for about half a second before my gaze was diverted to the painting that now rested on the table.

It was Hong Kong's.

The one that was now being rubbed off my boots. _True, it _was_ Hong Kong's fault that his painting got ruined, but I do feel bad. Maybe I should say something..._ I looked around at the ground and then up to Hong Kong, who had placed the second boot on the counter. He was holding a paper towel, drying the boots, when I said, "Thanks for helping me. I know I overreacted at first, but these boots really do mean a lot to me... If you'd like, I can try and help you fix your painting. Or I could help you make a new one, if you'd like."

I don't know when it happened exactly, but I knew that something had changed. It was like what had happened in the past was a distant memory that didn't matter anymore. It was like we were starting over. It's not like I felt a surge of friendship, but I sensed that the hostility between us had died down a lot. _Maybe we can actually be friends..._ But I shook my head at the notion. _No, we're total opposites. There's no way we can ever like each other._

Hong Kong stared at me before he looked at his destroyed painting. He smiled ever so slightly as he said, "That would be a huge help. I don't want to be a burden, but I really want to start over. I think it would be more work to try and salvage my first one... Yeah. Let's do it."

**A/N: So, I'll try to be faster with the next chapter. I hate waiting as much as you guys!**

**According to Google hálfviti is Icelandic for idiot or moron. (If you haven't noticed, Iceland mostly uses Icelandic to insult people.) Also, I used Google to try and find a good way to get paint off of leather. I've never had to try it, so don't go by my word that using vinegar will work this well.**

**Once again, thanks to walroose, Lycoris1305, and Wisely-san. Also, thank you everyone who has read my story thus far. You rock!**

**Now that I said that you guys rock, you'll review, da? Please? I'm getting disappointed in the amount of reviews I'm getting. If you don't review I'll make sure to take even longer for Iceland and Hong Kong to fall in love. (And yes, that's a threat!)**


	10. A Clean Canvas

**A/N: I'm sorry! I know this chapter took me forever to write, and I don't really have an excuse! (Unless you count the fact that last week I had to finish my Sealand cosplay so that I could go to an anime convention last weekend!) I hope you guys can forgive me! I really am sorry! :O**

**Chapter 10: A Clean Canvas**

I honestly did want to help Hong Kong make a new painting, but as he rushed around pulling out paints, paintbrushes, and a canvas, it occurred to me that I have no art skills. Sure, I like to doodle on the back of my classwork, but I don't have any _painting_ skills. _What was I thinking, offering him my help? I don't even like the guy, so why did I just agree to spend my entire Saturday with him?_ I sighed and sat down on a stool that was in front of the work table. Hong Kong climbed onto the stool next to mine. _I never realized how short he is! I mean, I'm usually the shortest person in the room, so this is weird!_ I laughed as Hong Kong straightened on his stool. He raised an eyebrow in my direction before he turned to the materials spread out before us.

I hadn't noticed that Hong Kong had grabbed two small pallets, but now he was squirting paint onto them. He filled both pallets with white, black, red, brown, green, and gold acrylic paints. He handed one pallet to me as well as a tiny paintbrush. He positioned the canvas between us and then smacked his face in frustration. He mumbled under his breath as he stood up and crossed over to the sink to fill two cups with cold water. I watched him and felt a small smile form at the corners of my mouth. _Why am I smiling? Hong Kong is a jerk! This doesn't make any sense..._ I never smiled in public. I rarely ever smiled. So why was I opening up to this punk so quickly? I don't know him, so I didn't understand why I'd actually smile at him. _He's only getting water! That's not even funny or anything!_

While this confusion swirled through my head, Hong Kong finished getting water and came back to the table. He placed one cup next to his paint pallet and the other next to mine. He got onto his stool again and said, very seriously, "That dragon took me forever to paint, so we're going to make something that's simpler. You know what Chinese flower paintings look like, right? The ones with white backgrounds, pink flowers, and dark branches? That's what I'm talking about. You start by painting the background white, while I mix the pink color." With that he turned to his pallet and began swirling some red and white paints. I picked up my paintbrush, but realized that it would take me forever to paint the entire canvas if I used that tiny brush. Now it was my turn to stand up. Hong Kong heard me and looked up from his paint mixture. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

"No, I'm just gonna get a bigger paintbrush. Over here, right?" I asked as I stepped over to where I had seen Hong Kong pick up the paintbrushes. He nodded before he spoke.

"Oh, sorry. I guess I didn't really think of that." He smiled at me as I grabbed a large brush, and then he went back to his work. I returned to my stool and got to work painting the canvas a pure white. It didn't take too long to do, so when I finished I looked over Hong Kong's shoulder to see how much he had done. On his pallet I could see three slightly varying shades of pink. At the moment, though, he was occupied with mixing the brown paint with black to get a very dark color, presumably to paint the branches with. I watched him for about a minute before he slightly smiled, satisfied with the color he had created, and turned to face me.

"So, how are your painting skills? Do you at least have a steady hand?" He tilted his head and suddenly grabbed my hand. He held my right hand within his own. He slowly turned my hand over as his eyes methodically trailed over it. His touch was cool and his skin was smooth. He used his thumb to rub at the creases on my palm and fingers. He looked over my knuckles and then he studied my thin wrists. _This is really weird..._ But I didn't say anything. I didn't want to make Hong Kong madder at me, so I bit my tongue and just watched the smaller person get familiar with my hand.

After what seemed like an hour, Hong Kong's gaze shot up and he blushed. "Ummm... sorry about that. I just wanted to see your hand so that I could get a feel of what kind of painter you are." I stared at him with a blank look. Thankfully, it seemed that he understood that I had no clue what he was talking about, since he continued to say, "I can make a good guess at an artist's skills by looking at their hands and reading them to see how that person functions. Like for you, the callus on the side of your middle finger is pretty small, meaning you have a really loose grip on your pencil. Because of that I can guess that you hold a paintbrush the same way, indicating that you'll have a light touch. That's a good thing!" He looked at me and then, _finally_, let go of my hand.

"Ummm... well I'm really a terrible painter. Sorry, I guess I should have told you that before offering my help. I don't think I'll be of much use... other than painting the background. But I think that's the only part I can help you with." My voice stayed flat, but for some reason I could feel a twinge of guilt as I spoke. _I'm probably just going to ruin this painting, too..._

My fears of ruining the painting all came true. I didn't _actually_ destroy this one, but I might as well have. First, Hong Kong painted the branches, starting above the bottom left corner and spreading up towards the top of the canvas. His brush barely hit the surface as he made swift, deft, movements, leaving a trail of brown after each stroke. Once he had finished with the branches, he demonstrated how he wanted all of the flowers to be made. I watched and tried to copy, but my flower was just sad and uneven whilst Hong Kong's was full and beautiful. It was a very simple design, but every flower I attempted was somehow askew from what I knew it should look like. After failing to make about five flowers, Hong Kong had sighed, chuckled, and said, "Why don't you mix a dark green color for us to use for the leaves? I'll finish the flowers."

I grabbed my pallet and mixed green and black (as instructed to do so by Hong Kong) paints together. As I swirled the pigments I watched Hong Kong add the last few flowers. The way his hand flew over the canvas was like how a dancer leaps across a stage. My paintbrush's swirling motions slowed as I got entranced by the Asian's amazing art skills. Without realizing it, I had slowly stopped stirring the paints entirely. Just watching the way Hong Kong so easily made flowers appear along the canvas made my heart beat hard against my chest. _He's so majestic..._ I shook my head, disgusted with myself. _What's wrong with me! What am I saying? I just think that Hong Kong looks so... uhhhh... _talented_. I mean, he's a good artist and everything._

"Are you done making the green?" Hong Kong asked, looking up after he painted the last flower. He glanced at my pallet and frowned. I looked down too, and I blushed ever so slightly. I had stopped mixing the paint when I was watching Hong Kong, and now he looked at the half-stirred mixture quizzically. "Oh, I see you have to finish mixing it," he laughed. I hurriedly swirled the paints together and then handed my pallet to Hong Kong, though I kept my eyes trained on the table.

Hong Kong proceeded to lightly apply the nearly-black green around a few of the flowers. He told me to try painting a leaf, but as I was slowly marking the canvas, my hand leaned into some wet paint (from the flowers) and smudged all over the surrounding area. I apologized repeatedly as Hong Kong used white to cover up the splotch. I was still apologizing the entire time that Hong Kong was repainting the flower. He had said that it was fine, but I felt awful. Once that was cleaned up, I looked at the clock that was hanging on the wall behind the teacher's desk; 5:43 PM.

Dinner wasn't that far away, (since dinner is served anytime between 6:00 and 7:00 PM), which was good, because I was already really hungry. I hadn't eaten lunch because I was too lazy to go to the cafeteria today, and now I was regretting it. My stomach grumbled quietly as I turned my attention back to the freshly repaired painting. Hong Kong looked at me for a second before he said, "Wow, I thought you were just being harsh on yourself when you said that you're a bad artist. But you weren't exaggerating." He started to laugh like he had earlier. The sound filled the room with its reverberating lightness. I cracked a tiny smile.

Sarcastically I responded, "Thanks for the encouragement." I let out a tiny laugh, which caused Hong Kong to tilt his head in surprise. _He looks shocked at the fact that I can laugh._ The thought made me chuckle again before I asked, "So what else do we have to add to the painting?" I knew it wasn't done, but I hoped that we were close to finishing.

Hong Kong tapped his chin with his right index finger for a moment while he thought. He quickly looked at the painting as he calculated what had to be done. "Well," he said, "I still want to add some more leaves around some of the flowers and then we have to add all of the highlights and shadows." He furrowed his large eyebrows and pursed his lips for a second before he added, "It will probably take us about... an hour." Internally I groaned. _I guess that means I'm gonna miss dinner, too._

"Okay, well let's get back to work."

We probably could have finished by 6:45, if it wasn't for the fact that around 6:15 my elbow knocked into my cup of (now brown-ish) water. My reflexes were fast and I caught the cup, but only after half of its contents were dumped onto the top right corner of the canvas. Hong Kong laughed, which made me feel worse. _Why can't I do anything right! I'm usually not a klutz..._ I blinked. _Does it have to do with Hong Kong? _It was weird, considering the fact that I still wanted to punch Hong Kong every time I had to look at him, but I felt my heart beat a bit faster ever since I ran into the Asian boy. _Am I nervous or something? ...No, it can't be. It's probably just due to my frustration about having to spend my entire Saturday with this hálfviti._

By 6:45 we had cleaned up the spilt water, but while we had been doing that Hong Kong decided he wanted to add some more shadows. I rolled my eyes jokingly, and then we spent the next half hour adding small details. Hong Kong's subjective eye scanned the canvas before he made us spend another ten minutes doing the finishing touches. Finally, about 7:25, Hong Kong deemed the painting worthy of being given to his friend China. "Yay!" I said dryly at the announcement. I smirked, "but today was actually pretty fun. We should hang out again sometime." I was surprised that I honestly found my words to be true. _I guess I never really had a reason to be so cold towards him... Hong Kong's a pretty nice guy._

"Yeah, but under different circumstances," Hong Kong laughed. "Seriously, we need to stop meeting by walking into each other." I nodded and then we both started to clean up our paint supplies. Hong Kong and I both washed our own pallets, paintbrushes, and water cups. Hong Kong put those away while I grabbed a sponge and wiped down our work table. I moved the painting to a different table so that it could dry and stay out of my way.

When Hong Kong returned from putting stuff away I had finished cleaning the table and I had put the sponge back on the counter next to the sink. All that was left were the big bottles containing the paint. Hong Kong grabbed half of them and I grabbed the other half. "These go in the closet," Hong Kong said as we picked up the bottles. I followed him as he entered the closet and we started to put the paints back onto the shelves. I was turning to leave the closet when I heard a loud bang and saw the closet door swing shut.

We were locked in.

**A/N: Well, what do you think? I hope you liked this, though I know it probably wasn't worth the long wait! Just as a reminder, I don't own Hetalia or anything else I might reference!**

**Thanks walroose, Lycoris1305, Wisely-san, and all of you for reading! I love you guys!**

**Review, da? Thanks! (I plan on getting the next chapter up much faster!)**


	11. Locked In and Finding Out

**A/N: Here's my new chapter! I hope you like it! **

**Chapter 11: Locked In and Finding Out**

We were locked in.

There was no doorknob on the inside of the closet, so our only ways of getting out were either breaking down the door or waiting for someone to open it from the outside. I sighed. The closet was a decent size, but there wasn't enough room to get the running start needed to bust down the door. I turned to Hong Kong and asked, "Do you have a cell phone on you? I don't have mine..." I trailed off as Hong Kong shook his head. "What do you think are the chances that someone will just happen to come into this room at 7:30 on a Saturday night?" I looked hopefully at Hong Kong, who turned away from me, so that he was facing the shelves that were full of art supplies.

It took him a minute before he slowly said, "We're gonna be here awhile. We might as well get comfortable." He turned so that he was facing me, and I nodded. I sat down against the wall that was perpendicular to the door. I pulled my knees up to my chest and hugged my arms around my legs. After Hong Kong had cleaned and dried my boots, we had both decided that we should leave them on the counters with the sinks. That way I couldn't get more paint on them and they'd have a bit more time to dry. I never had the chance to put them on, so now I sat there with only my white socks covering my feet. Both Hong Kong and I had taken off our blazers (because yes, everyone was so used to wearing the school uniform, most people wore it even on weekends) before we started painting, so they were still on a desk in the classroom. Now we both only had on our white button down shirts and black dress pants (we also left our ties in the other room, though Hong Kong at least had his shoes on).

Hong Kong had walked to the other side of the closet and sat with his back against the wall that was opposite me. He sat cross-legged and he kept his head hanging low for a few minutes before he looked up at me. I stared into his eyes for a second and then let go of my legs. I straightened my back and followed Hong Kong's lead, sitting cross-legged with my back against the wall. Hong Kong smiled as he said, "Well, since we're here, why don't we get to know each other better? If we're going to be partners for that competition, we should at least have a basic understanding of who we're working with." He looked at me expectantly for about half a second before he quickly added, flustered, "Of course, if you don't want to talk to me, you don't have to."

I laughed slightly and said, "No, you're right. I'll tell you a bit about myself... but only if you go first."

Hong Kong looked at me, thought for a moment, and said, "Okay, sounds fair." He shifted his position as he settled in more. "I don't have a great story. My family lives here in California, I have major stage fright, and after college I want to be a lawyer."

I nodded and responded with, "Norge and I live in Iceland, my favorite animal is the puffin, and I don't know what I want to do after high school." I shrugged and both of us fell silent. I looked at Hong Kong for a minute while he looked at me. A tiny smile appeared at the corners of sweet looking lips. I thought about smiling, but I still wasn't used to that, so I didn't. But my eyes were brighter than usual, and the way Hong Kong's face lifted slightly told me that he noticed the change. My eyes flicked over his body and I felt guilt gnaw at my insides.

True, it had been about a week since I ran into Hong Kong the first time, but I hadn't gotten over the pain and hate that had been in his eyes. I swallowed hard and whispered, "Does it hurt?"

Hong Kong's head tilted to the side and his eyes narrowed a bit as he glanced from side to side, like he was expecting to find an answer written on the walls somewhere. "Does what hurt?" he asked.

My ears became a light shade of pink as I looked at my socked feet and said, "Oh, sorry. I meant your burn... the one I gave you by making you spill your tea all over yourself." I heard a scuffling sound and I glanced up to see Hong Kong crawling over to me. My heart stopped for a second. _What is he doing!_ I furrowed my brows and set my mouth into a scowl. Hong Kong came up right next to me, so I scooched to my right so that he could sit on my left. Hong Kong kneeled in the spot I had just cleared for him and he looked at my face. I refused to make eye contact, though.

Hong Kong, standing on his knees, said quietly, "A bit. It's just a bunch of blisters, but one popped yesterday when I was taking a shower... Do you want to see it?" Hong Kong's face was completely red and now it was his turn to avoid making eye contact.

My brain instantly went back to when I initially met Hong Kong, bringing up the memory of Hong Kong taking his shirt off. (Not that I had been interested in seeing that. I had only been concerned about the extent of his injuries.) _How much do burns heal after a week?_ I blinked back into reality and slowly replied, "As long as you're okay with that." Hong Kong nodded slowly and he began to take off his shirt. I didn't know what to expect, but I felt some excitement pool in my stomach. _Why am I excited? That's gross! I mean, he's showing me his blisters!_ Nevertheless, I waited in anticipation as he undid the last button.

Hong Kong shrugged the shirt off and I felt my jaw drop. _Oh. My. Guð._ His smooth, beautiful, skin was marred with big blisters stretching across his stomach. I had thought his burn looked bad initially, but it was much worse now. The red bubbles stood about half an inch tall and most were circular in shape, with a diameter of about one inch. My stomach lurched a bit as I looked at the ten or so blisters, but I suddenly felt the urge to touch them. (Again, I only wanted to do that out of my concern for him.)

Without saying anything, I lifted my right hand and reached out towards Hong Kong's midriff. His eyes widened and he looked at my face. I hesitated, but when Hong Kong didn't verbally object, I let my hand close the gap between us.

My fingertips brushed against one of the larger blisters and my hand twitched and I felt a jolt course through my body. His skin was pulled tight against the blister, but it felt squishy all the same. I inched my body a bit closer towards Hong Kong. My hand lightly caressed over all of the blisters; except for one on the far right, which was the one that Hong Kong said had popped. _I hope this isn't hurting him._ Regardless of my worry, I spent another full minute letting my hand run across the injuries that I caused. Then I looked up at Hong Kong's face and saw that he was turning pink. I snapped my hand back to my side and I shifted farther away from him, my eyes trained at the locked door.

"Sorry. I think I got carried away... Did it hurt when I touched them?" I knew my own face was turning pink, so I kept staring at the door.

"I thought that they would hurt, but you have a very gentle touch," Hong Kong whispered.

I smiled slightly as I said, "I'm glad. I still feel awful about hurting you, so I would feel worse if I made your blisters hurt just now." I finally looked up and I stole a glance towards Hong Kong. He had pulled on his shirt, though he left it unbuttoned, making it hang around his small frame like a jacket.

"Well you shouldn't feel bad about me getting burned in the first place. I really should have been more careful... and I should have waited for my tea to cool down a bit." Hong Kong finally stopped kneeling so that he could lean his back against the wall as he resumed a cross-legged position.

I sighed and shook my head. "No, it was my fault. I should have watched where I was walking... Can you forgive me? I want us to work... you know, as partners for the competition. I want," I swallowed as I whispered, "...to be your friend." _Did I seriously just ask that?_

Hong Kong stared at me blankly for a moment. I felt really awkward and I was thinking of something to say, but Hong Kong finally smiled and said, "I forgive you. I could never really blame you, since it was really both are faults." He smiled wider as he continued, "And yeah, I want us to be friends, too."

I didn't know what to say, so I just nodded. We both fell silent again. Since I had nothing else to do, I closed my eyes and let sleep take me away from the confines of the closet.

I don't know how long I had slept, but when I woke up I was surprised to feel weight on my left shoulder. I opened my eyes groggily and peered to my left. I jumped a bit as I realized that Hong Kong's head was leaning against my shoulder. Even though I jumped, he was still asleep. His chest (still bare, because he never buttoned his shirt) was rising and falling slowly and evenly.

I brought my right hand up to my face to rub the sleep out of my eyes, careful not to move too much so that I wouldn't wake up Hong Kong. I had no way of knowing what time it was, but I had a feeling that now it was the middle of the night._ I wonder if Greece even noticed that I never came back to the dorm... Probably not._ I cracked my neck by tilting my head towards my left shoulder and then my right shoulder a few times and then I sighed. My stomach growled loudly. _I'm _so_ hungry._ I still hadn't eaten since breakfast, and I actually felt a bit sick from hunger.

I heard a slight moan and suddenly the weight was lifted from my arm. Hong Kong had woken up and now he was stretching and rubbing his eyes. He yawned and looked at me, blushing. "Sorry. I guess I kinda used your arm as a pillow."

I let a chuckle escape from my lips before I said, "No, it's fine... Hey, do you have a watch or something? I have no clue what time it is." Hong Kong shook his head. I sighed and mumbled, "I hope someone finds us soon. By now it's probably Sunday morning, but no one will come here on a Sunday, right?" Again, Hong Kong shook his head, and I noticed that his eyes looked a bit defeated. I tried to talk with happiness (which was hard because I always talked without a hint of emotion) as I said, "Well, I think someone will find us today for sure."

Hong Kong hung his head and whispered, "You're only saying that to make me feel better. But it won't help." He looked at my face with those big, sad, eyes. "I should have been more careful with the door so that it wouldn't close behind us."

I stood up and Hong Kong did the same, though he looked quite confused. I said in a stern voice, "No, it wasn't anybody's fault. Come on, there has to be something in here that can either help us open the door or get someone's attention so that they will know to open it." I've never been a rough person, I'm usually passive on things, but it killed me to see Hong Kong so depressed. I suddenly turned my attention to the shelves of art supplies. I scanned the items, but there didn't seem to be a lot of things that we could use. My heart sank, but I refused to let Hong Kong notice. I turned some things over in my hands as I thought about our options. _We really can't use any of this stuff..._

Hong Kong stepped closer to the shelves as he warily looked at the supplies that filled them. I looked at him and he looked at me, and we both smiled. _We'll get through this,_ I thought optimistically.

Suddenly, we heard a lot of noise outside the closet. Both of us were suddenly aware of everything as we stared at the door. I was about to shout for help, when I recognized what kind of sounds we were hearing. My eyes widened and I clamped my hand over Hong Kong's mouth so that he wouldn't say anything. We leaned towards the door, completely unsure of what to do.

Outside, in the classroom, I heard panting and muffled voices, though I didn't know what was being sad. _People are making out in there! Do we try and get them to help us? What do I do?_ Again, I'd found my way into another awkward situation.

Before I had time to decide what would be the best thing to do, the door opened. Two people, who were embracing each other tightly, stood in the doorway. I didn't know either of them. One, who had his back to use, was really, really, tall. _And I thought Denny was tall!_ He had this strange beige colored hair, but that was all I could see. His face was pressed into another boy's (well, I think it was a boy. He had his long hair tied back in a ponytail, but his frame looked too masculine to me). This second boy was a bit taller than me, and I could tell that he was Asian by the shade of his skin.

After a second, the two stopped sucking face to look up questioningly. The boy with the ponytail asked, "Why is the light already on?" It seemed that the two had come to the closet to use it as a hidden place for them to... partake in certain _activities_. Obviously there should have been no reason for the light to be on already.

After the boy asked the question, he spotted us. The larger boy must have seen the shocked expression on his lover's face, because he turned around to see what was wrong. Hong Kong and I stared back at them. The large boy smiled like we hadn't just caught them making out, but the other boy's mouth hung open as he watched Hong Kong. After a moment, the ponytail haired boy gasped, "Hong Kong, aru? I... we... you... aru!" He was extremely flustered and his face was bright red.

Hong Kong closed his eyes, stamped his foot, and shook his head. His face was as red as the ponytailed boy's, and his fists were clenched. I didn't have time to come up with something to say, because suddenly Hong Kong ran right out of the room (only pausing to grab his blazer and tie that were lying on a desk). I watched him leave and then I turned to the two boys.

The large boy blinked at me and said, "I'm Russia, and this is China." He looked like he really didn't care about what just happened. I nodded but stayed silent. _China, why is that name so familiar?..._ Suddenly it clicked that the ponytailed boy was China, Hong Kong's best friend; the one that we made the painting for.

I nodded again as I put all of this information together, and said, "I'm Iceland." I coughed. "Well, thanks for letting us out, we got locked in there a while ago." I came out of the closet and went to the table that Hong Kong and I left our finished painting on. I picked up the canvas and walked back over to China. "Ummm... Hong Kong and I made this for you." I handed him the painting and he looked down at it, his face portraying how confused he was. "Happy birthday."

And with that I went to the counter to grab my dry boots and then I got my own blazer and tie from the desk. I glanced back at Russia, still calm and collected, and China, who couldn't have looked more lost, and then I left the room.

**A/N: TEE HEE. I hope you guys liked this, because I had a ton of fun writing it! Though I actually had to Google what burn blisters look like to write that part. I hope you appreciate that! XD**

**Thank you walroose, Lycoris1305, Wisely-san, and a big shout out to xGreySkiesx for everything you guys have done for me! And again, thank you to everyone who's been reading! I love you guys; seriously.**

**Review, da? Reviews are very much loved!**


	12. Memories

**A/N: Well, here's the next chapter. Let's get right to it, shall we?**

**Chapter 12: Memories**

I left the room slowly, but I broke into a run as soon as I heard the door close behind me. Since the art room was on the fourth floor and all first years have dorms on the fifth floor, I decided to run to the nearest staircase to see if I could find Hong Kong before he went to his dorm. _I just really hope he _is_ heading to his room._ I bounded up the stairs two at a time and when I reached the fifth floor I could hear faint footsteps running down the hall to my right. Praying that it was Hong Kong, I followed the steps that sounded like they were getting slower. I sprinted as fast as I could to close the gap between the two of us. As I got nearer, I was suddenly aware that I couldn't hear any more footsteps. I rounded a corner and halted when I saw that Hong Kong was sitting on the ground, leaning against the wall.

Well, at least I _tried _to halt. But due to the momentum I had built up while running and due to the fact that I still only had socks on my feet, I slipped and fell flat on my back when I tried to stop myself. "Aaaaah!" I cried as my feet flew into the air. My head hit the ground hard and I just laid in the middle of the hallway. The wind was knocked out of me and so I decided to just close my eyes and wait for some of the pain to subside before I tried moving again.

From a few feet behind me I heard Hong Kong sniffle. He stood up and walked over to me, though my eyes were still held firmly shut, and he kneeled at my side. "Are you okay?" he asked. I pried open my left eye before I nodded. I reached my arms behind me and pushed myself up so that they were supporting me. I took a shaky breath, and then I started to laugh. I laughed a boisterous laugh (which is really out of character for me) for a few seconds before Hong Kong suddenly joined in. _We must look ridiculous,_ I thought as I felt tears form at the corner of my eyes. _It's been so long since I laughed so hard that I cried!_ After a few minutes, Hong Kong finally stood up, grabbing my hand and pulling me to my feet. I kept laughing, a few more tears of joy running down my cheeks. Suddenly Hong Kong started to hug me. I stiffened and I fought the urge to back away. After a couple of seconds I realized that my left shoulder was damp. I put my hands on Hong Kong's shoulders and gently pushed him away from me, just enough so that I could see his face. He had fresh tears streaming down from his eyes, and I knew that his weren't caused from laughing.

"Hong Kong, why did you run away?" My voice was hardly a whisper, but it had no trace of my usual dryness. My eyes were wide and I felt a twinge of pain in my chest as I watched my new friend cry. I tentatively brought my right hand to Hong Kong's face, and I wiped away the tears from both cheeks with my thumb. He looked up at me, his eyes screaming with pain.

"I think... I think I loved him," Hong Kong breathed. I was shocked and I didn't know what to do. I nodded, my eyebrows raised and my mouth slightly open. I tried to piece together something to say, but I couldn't get my tongue to work. _Hong Kong... is gay! _After I had internally floundered for what seemed like forever, Hong Kong took a deep breath and sighed shakily.

"Sorry for freaking out back there. But... China and I have been best friends for so long. I've had a tiny crush on him since I met him when I was seven... but back then I thought he was a girl and I had no clue what love was. Haha. But even when I learned that he was a boy and even as we got older, I still felt the same. It wasn't until last year, though, that my crush became something more... I don't know. I bet you're disgusted with me."

It was then that Hong Kong finally looked at me. I stared at him for a second, blinked, and then blushed, realizing that my thumb was still resting on his cheek. I pulled my hand back and swallowed thickly. "I... no... I..." I took a breath and paused for a moment to collect my thoughts. I started over, saying, "I'm not disgusted with you. I'm really close to a few gay people, and I don't think of them any differently because of it. I mean... it's not my business if you like guys or girls." I managed a small smile. Hong Kong nodded, but I could tell he wasn't really listening. _If he doesn't talk to me about this and let it out, I think he might self-destruct._ I took another deep breath before I added, "Tell me about him. China, I mean."

China's name seemed to be the key word, because when I whispered it, Hong Kong blinked himself back to reality. The tears stopped building in his eyes, and the glazed look in them was replaced by a different, foggy, look as he returned to the past. Hong Kong sighed and started, "Like I said, I met him when I was seven. China was eight, but he lived directly across the street." By this point, Hong Kong had started to slowly walk down the hallway and I followed him. He continued, "I was really shy when I moved into the neighborhood, so it took about two months after me moving there to actually talk to him. I had been sitting on the front steps when I noticed that he was riding his bike in circles around his driveway. My home's driveway was bigger than his, so I walked over to him and asked if he wanted to bike with me in my driveway. He took me up on that offer, and I guess ever since that day we've been best friends." Hong Kong usually lacks emotion when he talks, but right now he had a melancholy voice. The memories were good ones, but he still felt betrayed. He paused in his monologue and he actually stopped walking, too.

I stopped and waited for him to continue. _Wow, he's really opening up to me... I think he trusts me..._ I closed my eyes as that sank in. Norge has always been the only person to ever trust me, and he's my brother, so it doesn't really count. Having someone else trust me with such important things, like what Hong Kong was doing right now, made me feel really good. _I will never do anything that will make him lose his trust in me,_ I internally vowed.

When I opened my eyes, Hong Kong had taken a step or two forward as we started to walk again. I wasn't sure if he was going to, but Hong Kong picked up where he left off in his story, saying, "So, yeah, he was a grade higher than me, but every day after school we played together. Lots of people thought that we were brothers, and after I knew him for about a year I began to believe it myself. Things between us were great, until last year when China got accepted into Hetalia Prep. I knew that he was going to high school while I was still in middle school, but I had just assumed that he would be going to our town's public school." Hong Kong sighed and smiled.

I nodded in understanding when Hong Kong quickly glanced at me before he kept going. "It was near the end of summer vacation when China told me he got in here, and I was really destroyed. I never let China know, though, because I wanted us to spend our last few weeks together without him feeling bad about making me sad. Once he had left, I thought of him every day. It wasn't until about October last year that I realized that the crush I'd had on him for so long seemed to have become more. Then it took until December, when China came home for a week for Christmas vacation and I was able to see him again, that I realized that I loved him. So I spent the rest of last year working really hard at school so that I could also get into Hetalia Prep. China came back home for summer vacation, and we were both ecstatic when I got the letter that said I had been accepted here. I thought that it was fate that I was allowed to come here, foolishly thinking that somehow China would fall for me if we both went here..." A single tear drop escaped Hong Kong's eye.

I grabbed his hand. _I don't know if this will help, but..._ I've always been socially awkward, so I had no idea if I was being creepy or comforting. Thankfully I think that Hong Kong at least knew I meant to be comforting, because he gripped my hand back. He lifted his shoulders and stood up straight. His eyes were still trained on the ground as he said, "But he looked so happy with that other guy, so I'm happy for him." Then he turned (I had just noticed that we hadn't been walking for about a minute) and pulled out his room key. I glanced at the number on the door: 544. _I guess this is his room._ Hong Kong opened the door and looked me in the eyes. "Thanks for listening Iceland... I'm glad we can be friends." I nodded and he entered the room, quietly closing the door behind him.

Still carrying my boots, blazer, and tie, I headed down to my own dorm. I unlocked the door and went straight to my bed. I glanced at the clock on my bedside table, which read 12:47 AM. _It's not as late as I thought._ I stood back up (since I had sat on the edge of my bed) and quickly used the bathroom and brushed my teeth. I went back to my bed, too tired to change into my pajamas, and laid down. Within one minute of placing my head on my pillow I was asleep.

The next morning (well, I guess it was still the same morning, since I went to sleep around 1:00 AM) I woke up at 6:53 AM. I contemplated taking a shower, but I was so hungry that all I did was brush my teeth (completely ignoring my tangled hair), change out of the clothes that I had been wearing since yesterday, and put on my clean white boots. It was still only 7:01 AM when I left the room, glancing over at Greece in his bed. He looked so at peace, his five cats all curled up next to him.

I quickly walked to the cafeteria, my stomach leading the way. Once I entered the nearly empty room (since it was still pretty early, especially for high school students on a Sunday morning) my mouth started to water. I picked up a plate and loaded it with pancakes dripping with honey. I got a big glass of milk as well as a small bowl of fruit salad and I sat alone at a table in the corner of the cafeteria.

After stuffing my face with two plates of pancakes, I was completely full. I put down my fork and leaned back in my chair. I was deciding whether I wanted to go to my room or the library (since I never actually made it to the library like I had intended yesterday) when I heard a familiar voice. My head jerked up as I pinpointed the sound of Denny's annoying laughter. I smiled when I saw him and Norge and I started to walk over to them, dropping off my dishes in the bin where they get collected to be washed. I was halfway across the cafeteria when I heard a much quieter, though also familiar, voice right off to my left saying, "Hey Iceland."

I turned my head and saw Hong Kong smiling at me. He looked much better than last night, smiling like nothing had happened. I returned the look with a small smile and said, "Well I already ate breakfast, but if you want, I'll sit with you while you eat." Hong Kong's smile faded as he turned his head, looking over to an empty table. _I bet that's where he usually sits with China._ He looked back at me and smiled again.

"Yeah, I'd love to sit with you!" he said happily.

I looked back at Denny and Norge, who were now grabbing their utensils, about to find a table to sit at. I asked, "Is it okay if we sit with my brother and his friend?" I jerked my right thumb in their direction and Hong Kong nodded.

I waited in line with Hong Kong as he grabbed a scone and some oatmeal, and of course some tea. We went to the table that I saw Norge and Denny sit at. We came up behind them and stood awkwardly for a moment, before I jabbed my right index finger into the back of Denny's neck. He whipped around, yelling, "What was th- Oh! Hey Ice! Do you want to sit with us?" He grinned that infamous idiotic grin of his, and I just nodded, my eyes blank and emotionless. I sat down and Hong Kong sat right next to me. Norge's eyes narrowed to slits as he eyed Hong Kong. Denny looked surprised for a moment, obviously he hadn't seen Hong Kong until now, but then he smiled.

I said coolly, "Ummm... Norge, Denny, this is my friend Hong Kong. Hong Kong, this is my brother Norge and his roommate Denny." While I spoke I used my hand to point to each person as I said their name.

Norge looked away from Hong Kong as he looked at me to ask, "Are you feeling okay? I didn't see you at lunch or dinner yesterday."

I love Norge, but sometimes he gets too protective of me. I rolled my eyes and said, "Well I just kinda skipped lunch and then Hong Kong and I were... tied up yesterday."  
>Hong Kong smirked slightly and said dryly, "That's an understatement." I laughed.<p>

Denny stared at me (he probably thought that I didn't know how to laugh or something) for a moment before he also got a smirk. He wiggled his eyebrows flirtatiously. "And what is that supposed to mean?" he asked teasingly. Hong Kong and I both blushed and Norge narrowed his eyes at Hong Kong again.

Norge's voice had an icy stabbing quality as he spat, "Yeah, what _is_ that supposed to mean?"

I was shocked. I had thought that I'd seen Norge angry before, but the absolute hatred that burned in his eyes when he looked at Hong Kong scared me. _What did he do to deserve this?_

After a moment, I sighed. I had finally made a real friend, the first one I've ever had, and it seemed that Norge would do anything to keep him away from me. _This overprotective big brother thing is really getting old..._

The rest of breakfast went by silently; Norge and Hong Kong glaring at each other (since Hong Kong had quickly picked up on Norge's animosity and started returning it) and Denny and I were too afraid to say anything. _How do I always get into these situations?_

Little did I know, this was barely the beginning.

**A/N: So... I know the end is kinda bad, but I honestly didn't plan on the chapter going like this. I had planned on making this and the next chapter one chapter, but I guess that Hong Kong can cry for a lot longer than I had thought originally. XD**

**Thanks to walroose, Lycoris1305, Wisely-san, and xGreySkiesx for being awesome! And thanks for reading and reviewing!**

**Review, da? I'm also very open to suggestions (pairings, plot, whatever) so don't be afraid to PM me either!**


	13. Answer

**A/N: I'm sooo sorry! Even I hate myself for taking soooo long to update! But, for at least a little while, I think it will normally take me this long to update (once every two weeks or so... sorry).**

**So I have no clue how people will take this chapter... I don't even know what to think. I hope you enjoy it...**

**Chapter 13: Answer**

So, nothing important happened during the next week. That is, nothing until Friday afternoon. I was in Biology and we had about half an hour left of class. I had been given nearly no homework for the weekend, and now I just had to listen to Mr. N give us some lecture as he wrote notes on the board. I had already read that chapter in my textbook, so now I was bored out of my mind. I folded my arms on my desk and rested my head on them. _I should copy down the notes,_ I thought dully. _But I really don't want to..._

I glanced backwards and saw that Hong Kong was taking detailed notes. _If I really need any of these notes I can just ask Hong Kong if I can borrow his._ Happy with my resolve, I just sat and stared at Mr. N as he talked animatedly.

_He's got a great butt,_ I noted. I let my eyes scan over my teacher's muscular frame, feeling slightly ashamed. _I really shouldn't be doing this..._ But I couldn't help myself. I let my eyes slip half-shut, but I kept eyeing Mr. N. I was studying his gravity-defying, spiked, hair when he suddenly turned around and looked at me. _Oh_ _Guð, he noticed! _I felt my face go hot. _This is so awkward..._ I didn't know what to do; I was freaking out. I took a deep breath. _Maybe he just happened to turn around... Yeah. That's it. I bet he didn't even notice that I was looking at him._ I relaxed.

Then Mr. N said, "Ice, you're being a naughty boy." He gave me a wink and then flashed his brilliant smile. My entire body felt warm and my heart began to beat faster. Mr. N continued, pouting, "What are we going to do with you?" He put down the chalk that he was holding and took a step closer to me. I glanced around at the other students, who still seemed to be writing in their notebooks. _That's weird, I figured that the entire class would be making fun of me by now..._ I lost my train of thought, though, as Mr. N came uncomfortably close to my desk. He leaned in, until he was about four inches away from my ear, before he said, "It's improper to look at your teachers that way." He winked again and a tingling sensation flew up my spine. I shivered.

He closed the gap between us, planting a small kiss on my cheek. I blinked, completely shocked and unable to move. My breath caught in my throat. Mr. N took a step back and smirked down at me. By that point my body was trembling and I felt a cold drop of sweat run down my back.

"I know! I think that you need a spanking for your punishment!" Mr. N laughed. I finally regained control of my body, whipping my head around to look at my classmates. None of them had moved. I didn't know what to think, but suddenly Mr. N grabbed my attention again. He was standing about two feet away from my desk, and he had started to take off his shirt. He was unbuttoning it at a devilishly slow rate. His eyes flicked up to mine and, still unbuttoning, he said, "I might get a bit sweaty, it seems to happen when I get too excited, and I don't want to ruin my shirt. You don't mind, do you?" I didn't want to answer, but I felt my head shaking, telling him that I didn't mind. _What am I doing!_ I had never felt more ashamed, horrified, and turned on before.

Mr. N pulled off his shirt, revealing his _very_ muscular chest. He smirked again and said, "I knew you wouldn't." He grabbed my right hand and pulled me to my feet. I felt sick to my stomach and I thought that my face must be glowing red, since it felt so hot from my flush. Mr. N led us over to his desk. Then he put both of his hands onto my shoulders before he leaned in and placed a quick kiss onto my lips.

It was my first kiss, other than the one Mr. N had planted on my cheek moments ago, so I didn't know what to do. The way his soft lips brushed mine scared me, but it felt so good. I knew that it was wrong to have these feelings, but for that brief moment when my teacher took my breath away, I felt the happiest I ever had in my life. _This is crazy!_ I tried to will my heart to beat at its usual rhythm, but it just kept beating about three times faster than normal. I felt my knees buckle under me, so I was thankful for Mr. N's large hands still on my shoulders, since he helped keep me standing up. I opened my mouth to utter a thanks for catching me, but Mr. N just leaned in closer and put a finger on my still trembling lips. "Shhh," he breathed, his hot breath heating my flushed cheeks. He reached around my shoulder and grabbed a ruler off of his desk, obviously to use for spanking me with.

Then he suddenly straightened up and spun me around, bending me over his desk. _I know that a spanking is suggestive in itself, but this is too much! _I blushed even redder as I thought about the things my teacher could do to me while I stayed in that position. Mr. N said, "This might hurt a little, but I think you'll enjoy it in the end." He laughed his incredibly sexy laugh and I felt another tingling wave course through my body.

I let out a small gasp as my worried eyes looked into the faces of the other students. No one, not even Hong Kong, cared about what was going on in the front of the classroom. I gulped and shut my eyes.

When I opened my eyes I was still sitting at my desk and Mr. N was still standing in front of the board, fully clothed. I blinked for a few moments, realizing that I had fallen asleep. I sighed, but whether it was from relief or disappointment, I do not know. I turned around, seeing the other kids working. Hong Kong notices and asks, with a tiny smile, "Are you okay? You look really confused." I just nodded my head and turned back to the front of the room. _It was just a dream... _

I spent the rest of class just staring at my desk, and when the bell rang I ran out of the room as fast as I could.

An hour later, after I had gone to my dorm and quickly did my homework, I decided to go sit in that big tree again. _I hope there's no one else there this time..._ I cringed as I remembered what had happened the last time I sat in the tree. I shook the thoughts out of my head as I traveled out of the school and into the forest. I absentmindedly wandered through the trees until I got to the trunk of the tallest one. I climbed the branches and found my usual perch. I leaned my back against the rough bark and I turned my head up towards the high branches, my eyes closed. I sighed and just let time go by.

After a couple of hours of sitting there, I still wasn't sure what to do. I ran my right hand through my hair and lightly hit my head against the tree trunk a few times. _I think I need some help. I was okay before, when I only blushed when we made eye contact, but I can't continue taking his class if what happened today is going to become a normal thing. But I bet that talking to someone would help me get over these taboo feelings..._

I blinked. I don't know why it took me so long to realize it, but now it was clear to me that I had to talk to someone, _anyone_, about my problem. Satisfied, I finally climbed out of the tree and headed back to the school to eat dinner.

It took me a week to finally settle on who I wanted to talk to. I couldn't talk to Norge, because I just didn't want him to know, and I couldn't tell Denny, because I was sure that he'd just go and tell Norge. My brother is the only person I have left, and I had a terrible feeling that if he knew about my infatuation with my teacher he wouldn't treat me the same way anymore. _He'd look at me like I'm a freak, a disgusting freak, if he found out._ I also couldn't talk to Hong Kong, since he was still a bit upset over China and Russia; I didn't want to bother him with my problems. I would talk to Greece, but it always seemed that he was either not in the dorm or, when he was there, Japan was also there, and I thought that it would be awkward to talk about those kind of things in front of the shy boy.

So on the Friday exactly one week after my dream, I found myself knocking on the door of room 512. I waited for a minute before Finny opened the door. He looked surprised for a few seconds before a wide grin stretched across his face. "Oh, hey Ice! Come on in!" he said warmly, stepping to the side to let me into the room. Sweden was sitting on his bed, laptop resting on his legs. He glanced at me and nodded before going back to his computer. Finny closed the door as he turned around to face me, that grin still on his face. He said, "Well don't be afraid to make yourself at home. So, what's up? Did anything particular bring you here or did you just want to hang out? I know! We should play karaoke again!" Finny laughed and I saw Sweden glance up at him and smile softly.

I blushed a bit, remembering the last time we played karaoke, and gave a tiny cough. "Uhhh…. maybe next time?" I whispered. I didn't mean to, but my voice was very quiet, and I could hear a slight bit of panic hidden within the tones. I completely abandoned my usual dryness and spoke with the scared sadness that had settled in my heart ever since my dream. I needed someone to talk to, but I was terrified of what anyone would say if they knew about my… _obsession_ with Mr. N.

Even though I had only said one sentence, Finny's smile immediately slipped and Sweden put his laptop down as he got off the bed. Both blonds walked right up to me, but I had my shoulders drawn together and my head hanging down. _I guess tone of voice really can give hints as to how someone is feeling,_ I thought dully. "Ice? What is it? You can trust us, come on, tell us what's wrong…. You, you sound so _sad_!" Finny implored.

_Well, I guess I should just tell them… that is the whole reason I came here._ I squared my shoulders but kept my eyes on my feet, not raising my head. "I n-need help."

Sweden placed a large hand on my shoulder and Finny stuck his hand under my chin, tilting my head up. His eyes were huge spheres of worry, and the fact that I caused him such distress made guilt gnaw at my insides. He begged quietly, "Please, tell us what it is. We _will_ help you."

I nodded and Finny moved his hand so that it rested on my other shoulder. "I, I did something. Something wrong… Well, not really, but I thought about it and I think I'm in love with my teacher so I don't think it's legal but I really liked it, I think, and I know that Norge will hate me and the entire student body would be disgusted with me if they found out and I could be kicked out of this school and then Norge would also leave, but he has to stay here because he's so smart and I want to make sure he has a good future and I think-" Finny's and Sweden's staring finally put an end to my rambling. I realized that I had been progressively talking faster and that they probably had no clue what I was talking about. I took a deep breath. _This is so unlike me… I guess this whole thing really has gotten to me._ I took another breath and thought about trying to reiterate my little speech, but thankfully both boys nodded. _Maybe they understood what I was at least trying to say._

Finny, still nodding, said, "Ummm… I think I know what you mean. Now, Ice, have you ever," he paused, biting his lip. "Have you ever had a crush?"

I looked into Finny's eyes and then Sweden's. Both were staring at me intently. I thought for a minute, scanning all of my memories. I finally said, "No, I don't think so."

Finny's face suddenly brightened. He let out a small laugh, and I could see that Sweden also looked much more at peace. Finny said, "Well that's all it is! Ice, you have a crush! Nobody's going to be kicked out of school! I mean, yeah, having a crush on a teacher could lead to trouble, but only if you pursue those feelings. You're gonna be okay, Ice. We can help you. I mean…. if you really think you're in love, than there isn't anything we can do. But I think that it's more likely that you just are attracted to her."

_Her._ The fact that Finny assumed I had a crush on a _female_ teacher made my throat go dry. _I guess that's what most guys would say, but… I like Mr. N._ I sighed with relief, though. I blushed, embarrassed at how much I had overreacted to a little crush. "Oh… Wow. Well, this is kinda awkward…" I swallowed hard. My voice was back to being dry, but not as emotionless as usual. "Thanks for the help; I think I should leave now." I tried to turn to leave, but both boys still had their hands on my shoulders. I looked at them, my brow furrowing slightly, and they suddenly led me over to Finny's bed. We all sat down, me in the middle.

Finny smiled, "No, I think you have to talk about this first."

Sweden also gave a tiny, microscopic, smile. "W're h're f'r ya, Ice."

I couldn't help but smile. _They really care about me?_ I nodded. "Well, I had a dream in class last week about my teacher doing things to me… things that someone should _never_ do with their teacher, if you know what I mean." Finny and Sweden glanced at each other, smiled, and nodded. "But during the dream, I think that I wanted it to happen… I liked it. I dunno, I guess I just freaked out because I was disgusted with myself. But," I looked Finny straight in the face and smiled. "I think I'll get over it. I mean, I thought about it. I don't know what love is, and I'm not ready for it. Just talking with you guys, knowing that I have support and friends I can talk to, has also helped me. I'm not scared anymore. Really, I'll be okay." I meant every word, but, of course, I spoke them in a plain voice. I did, however, smile.

Finny smiled, and then blushed a bit. "Which one? …I mean, which teacher do you have a crush on?"

Now I blushed and whispered, "M-Mr. Netherlands." Just saying it out loud confirmed it for me. I was finally able to answer my question: do I like men?

Yes.

**A/N: O.o Yeah... I told you, I have no clue what people will think of this. Oh well. Sorry, the end is wicked lame, but I was having problems...**

**Well, thanks to walroose, Lycoris1305, Wisely-san, xGreySkiesx, and everyone who's actually put up with me and my lame story. I swear I'll get the plot going and things will be happening faster, so please don't lose hope in me just yet! **

**Review, da?**


	14. Good Morning

**A/N: Yeah, so if you're still reading this even after what happened in the last chapter, I love you! This one is a bit short, but I hope you think it's cute~ Enjoy!**

**Chapter 14: Good Morning**

So after I finally accepted my homosexuality, I spent the next couple of weeks in isolation. I really didn't want to talk to anyone and so I spent most of my time sitting in my favorite tree. I could tell that people were getting a bit worried about me, but they had their own problems so I wasn't a large concern. Norge and Denny had been getting closer, Finny and Sweden were always doing couple things, Japan and Greece were always getting it on, and Hong Kong was stalking China.

I had pretty much given up on taking care of myself, eating one meal a day at most, as I put all of my energy into my schoolwork. I wasn't depressed or anything, I just didn't want to hang out with people after my dream about Mr. N. Finny had told me that it was okay to have a crush on a teacher, but I felt dirty inside. Just looking at the faces of my friends made me feel slightly nauseous.

It wasn't the fact that I'm gay that I cared about, (since nearly everyone at this school is,) but just the fact that I had been fantasizing about my teacher deeply upset me. But after those few weeks of withdrawal, I decided that Finny and Sweden weren't going to tell anyone about my dream and so if I didn't talk about it, no one would know that it ever happened.

It was a brisk morning in September, the 29th to be exact, when I finally tried to come out of my shell. I went to breakfast for the first time in weeks and I sat down with my tray at the table that Norge and Denny were at. Norge seemed a bit flustered and I noticed that he sat farther away from Denny than normal (since I would still sit at their table at dinner, though I just wouldn't talk with them).

Denny had a huge, stupid, grin on his face and he looked pleasantly surprised. "Hey Ice! It's been a long time since you came down here for breakfast! I thought you were anorexic or suicidal or -"

Norge shot Denny the scariest glare I had ever seen. His narrowed eyes were as cold as glaciers and as hard as steel. _He looks like he's gonna bite Denny's head off,_ I thought amusedly. The glare was more than enough to stop Denny's rant dead in its tracks.

Denny gulped and Norge looked away sheepishly. My brother's face had an unnatural pink blush to it. _Something definitely happened,_ I realized as the two let the awkward silence settle around us. I cleared my throat and asked, "D-did something happen? You guys are acting weird..."

Norge just turned so that he wasn't facing either of us, and Denny's face suddenly adopted a sly smirk. He leaned in close to me and put his hand up so that people couldn't hear us. "This morning," he said, "I woke up and Norge was in my bed!" His face was full of satisfaction and he had a beaming smile.

My eyes widened and I stuttered out a flabbergasted, "Wha-what!"

Obviously Norge knew what we were talking about, because he suddenly turned in his seat so that he was even farther away from us. But from where I was sitting I could still see the dark red blush that had spread to the tips of his ears.

Denny, suddenly abandoning his secrecy, leaned back in his chair and folded his hands behind his head. He said in a bragging voice, "Yeah, you heard me right. I woke up and I knew something was up, but I was shocked to find your brother curled up against my side. He had crawled under the blanket with me and everything!"

We both took a second to look over at Norge, who still refused to acknowledge us.

Denny continued, "So I didn't move or nothing, because I didn't want to wake him up. He was sooooo cute! I just wanted to pinch his cheeks, and I don't mean his face..." Denny trailed off and I got a disturbing image in my head before he picked up from where he had stopped so abruptly. "Haha, whatever. So I laid there for about ten minutes before suddenly Norge jerked awake. He stared into my face for a second before he did this adorable flailing thing that somehow managed to knock both of us off the bed!"

As Denny took a moment to laugh Norge finally turned to face us. His face was red and he looked really mad, and, if I had to guess, embarrassed. Denny didn't seem to care, though. After his boisterous laugh died down he smiled gently at Norge before he faced me again with his dumb grin.

Denny spoke quickly, excitedly, as he said, "So then we were on the floor and we were all tangled up in the blanket. I thought it was hilarious! After a minute of getting our bearings we leaned against my bed and I looked at Norge and I was like, 'Norge, I didn't realize you felt that way about me!' And then Norge was all like, 'oh of course Denny! I love you and I-'" Denny was cut off when Norge threw a bagel at his head.

Denny and I stared at Norge, who had stood up, and we just gawked at him. I'd never seen a face so red. Norge spoke in a quiet, piercing voice, and he hissed, "That's not what I said at all and you know it! I told you that I saw a giant green troll and it just kinda freaked me out! When I knew it was gone it was only 12:30 and I didn't want to be alone anymore." That last part was spoken in almost a whisper. It was clear that Norge didn't want me to know about his moment of weakness.

I kept staring at Norge for a minute before I broke the silence by saying, "You saw a troll? You sure you weren't dreaming?" I held back a snicker, since I could tell that Norge really _was_ upset over this.

Norge's face grew from embarrassed to angry in the matter of a second as he huffed, "It was real! I know what I saw, and it definitely wasn't a dream!"

After another moment of silence, Denny started to laugh again and Norge shot him a look. Denny stopped laughing and said seriously, "I'm sorry, Norge. I believe you. If you say you saw a troll, then you saw a troll. No doubt about it!" The words could have been taken in a mocking way, but the way Denny said them told us that he was dead serious.

Norge's face relaxed and he blinked a few times. _I don't think Norge saw that one coming..._ After a few moments Norge nodded. He spoke slowly, "I knew you would believe me." He gulped, "And thanks for being there for me last night."

Denny smirked again and said, "Anytime, Norge. Anytime." Norge punched him lightly in the shoulder and they both smiled. Norge sat down again and the two just gazed into each other's faces. I took the hint and got up from the table, leaving the two to have their moment.

I grabbed my nearly empty tray of food and dumped my dishes into their proper receptacles. I was about to leave the cafeteria when I caught sight of Hong Kong. He was standing right up against a window, his face only an inch from the glass. I walked right up to him and asked, "What are you doing?"

Hong Kong flinched and whipped around. His tense shoulders eased when he saw it was me and he let out a relieved sigh. He whispered, "Quiet. This is a stakeout."

**A/N: Haha, so, again, I know this is shorter than my usual chapters, and it took me awhile to post, but I wanted something kinda fluffy after what happened in the last chapter (which I am deeply sorry for). By the way, I used the date September 29, in honor of walroose's birthday... she insisted that I used it.**

**Thanks to walroose, Lycoris1305, Wisely-san, xGreySkiesx, and all of you readers! I actually know where the plot is going, so I hope it gets more exciting!**

**Review, da?**


	15. Waiting

**A/N: Darn, why does it take me so long to write something this lame? Oh well, I hope you like this chapter!**

**Chapter 15: Waiting**

"Quiet. This is a stakeout."

I looked at Hong Kong long and hard. He was wearing all black (which was a surprise, since I'd only ever seen him in his school uniform) and he had some type of black war paint on his face. I guess it was that kind of stuff you put on your cheeks when you play football and other sports, but it looked war-like to me. His black shoes, pants, and sweatshirt were topped off with a black skull cap. He actually looked _really _good. Not that I would say that out loud... well, _not yet._

I glanced around for a second and then whispered, "Wait. What?" I had no clue what Hong Kong meant by that.

"You know, a stakeout," Hong Kong said happily. He continued when all I gave him in response was a blank stare. "Come here," he grabbed my hand and pulled me closer to the window. "See? Right there is China and that _creepy_ boyfriend of his. I've been watching them for a few weeks now, but I still can't figure out what Russia has that I don't. I mean, sure, he's tall and muscular, but China's never been one to care about appearances before!" Hong Kong suddenly got a far off look in his eyes. I watched him for a moment before I realized that we were still holding hands. I blushed and pulled my hand back, putting both hands into my pockets. Hong Kong hardly seemed to notice.

I swallowed and then said dryly, "So you think that if you stalk them you can find some way to become China's boyfriend?"

Hong Kong looked at me and then he shifted his gaze to the ground as he pouted. He whined, "Well it sounds bad when you put it _that_ way!" He turned his eyes back to me and he said in his normal, calm, voice, "Will you help me?"

I furrowed my brows slightly and blinked. "Are you asking me to help you stalk your best friend/ love interest? I mean, that's a bit weird... but I guess. I mean, if you can't stalk with your friends, why else have them?"

Hong Kong smiled and said, "Haha, yeah. I knew you would understand!"

What happened next came as a complete surprise to me. Hong Kong hugged me. He wrapped his thin arms around my shoulders, causing me to instantly stiffen. After a second I relaxed and melted into the sudden warmth that surrounded me. I took a deep breath and smelled a hint of tea mingled with his shampoo, (which reminded me of a rainy spring day). I lifted my arms and hugged him back. I would have been fine if I could stay in that comforting embrace all day, but Hong Kong pulled back much too quickly. He leaned in towards my ear and whispered a barely audible, "Thanks, Iceland."

It was that morning's events that led up to me standing outside Hong Kong's room at 4:00 AM the next Saturday. He wanted us to do some early morning stalking, so I was dressed head-to-toe in black. Since my white boots were my only shoes, I just wore black socks and went without shoes. My pants weren't my school issued ones, and they were a bit long on me. My black sweater was actually Denny's, since I don't have one of my own, (and thankfully he didn't question why I wanted it), and it was also too big. _I must look homeless or something..._

I didn't want to knock on Hong Kong's door, since I didn't want to wake up his roommate, so I stood there awkwardly for about two minutes, not sure what to do. I was just about to knock anyways (in case Hong Kong was still asleep or something) when the door opened and Hong Kong stepped out. He had the same outfit on that he wore the other day when I found him stalking China, except he was still applying his "war paint". Without saying anything he reached over and smeared the black stuff all over my own cheeks. I gasped, since it was kinda cold, but I didn't object.

"There." Hong Kong smiled as he stepped back to get a full look at me. He nodded once and then disappeared back into his dorm. I was very confused, but then he came back about ten seconds later. _I guess he was just putting away the container of that black stuff and washing the extra off of his hands. _"Ready to go?"

I was physically prepared to go, but I wasn't mentally ready. _This _is _really creepy... especially since I don't know China or Russia._ I didn't want to upset Hong Kong and flake on him, though, so I just nodded and straightened my back. I cleared my throat and whispered confidentially, "Let's do this!"

So I had thought that watching China and Russia all day was going to be creepy enough, but that was before I knew that we were going to break into China's dorm room: 367. Don't get the wrong idea, it's not like we broke in and watched China sleep or anything. As we sat in the hallway perpendicular to the one which contained China's room, Hong Kong did a rundown of what was supposedly going to happen today.

"Okay," he began, "first we wait here until he wakes up. It's Saturday, so he'll get up early to take a walk around the school grounds. Don't give me that look," he said as I stared at him with a disapproving look. He continued haughtily, "He's actually asked me to join him on a few occasions, so no, I don't only know that because I follow him around! Where was I? Oh yeah! So he'll leave to walk around the school, which _should_ take him about half an hour. While he's gone we can go in and..."

It was at that point that I interrupted Hong Kong, whispering fiercely, "What about China's roommate? We can't just walk in there while some other guy is still sleeping! What if he wakes up?" I wanted to keep my voice calm, but I was so exasperated that I didn't care if I let my voice waver up an octave while I whined.

Hong Kong smiled and put a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry about it," he said. "I know China's roommate. His name is Turkey, but he rarely ever sleeps in their room. He likes to go to the library at night or sometimes the gym to work out. He usually sleeps during lunch and stuff, so we won't run into him at this hour."

I sighed and let my shoulders sag, causing Hong Kong to remember that his hand was still resting there and so he quickly pulled it back to his side. I nodded slowly and Hong Kong's smile widened a bit. I still didn't like the whole _stalking_ thing, but I would do it if Hong Kong really wanted to.

After a second of silence, Hong Kong suddenly remembered what we had been talking about a minute ago and said, "So, yeah. After China leaves we're gonna go into his room and just peek around. I've done this once before, and there's something I want to show you that I find pretty cute. I know that breaking into his room is uber sketchy, but it's a great way for me to see exactly what kind of stuff he likes. After we look around, we can go to breakfast. China will eat with Russia, and after they finish they'll probably go to the library or something." Hong Kong shrugged. "And we just play it by ear after that. We follow the two of them around and see what they do. In all actuality, today I want to learn about Russia."

I remembered our conversation about how Hong Kong just wanted to compare himself to Russia, and I sighed again. I spoke quietly in my usual, harsh, voice as I said, "This is dumb. I hope you realize that." Hong Kong looked hurt when I said that, but I pressed on. "China and Russia love each other. You can't change yourself to make China love you. It doesn't work that way. I know it's hard, but you have to wait to find the... the _One_." Hong Kong raised his eyebrows at me and I furrowed my own brow. I couldn't believe that Hong Kong was so thick-skulled that he didn't understand what I was talking about. I kept on talking, though my voice now revealed my frustration. "You have to know what I'm talking about! The One! That one person that you love and who loves you back just because the two of you can act completely natural together! Like... like... like Norge and Denny!"

Hong Kong's blank stare finally showed recognition, but he made no indication of giving up on his mission. His eyes became wide and his mouth gaped open ever so slightly. _He's so cute when he's surprised._ I shook the thought out of my head and decided to just nonchalantly watch the boy as we sat there in wait.

We sat in the hallway for a little while, but soon we heard a shuffling sound. Hong Kong tensed and then hopped to his feet with swift agility. I blinked up at him and then scrambled to stand next to him. We pulled our bodies tight against the wall as we heard a door swing open and then feet trailing off down the hall. We glanced around the corner when everything was silent again, and (thankfully) there were no signs of anyone else being there.

"Come on, let's go!" Hong Kong tugged my arm and we stepped up to the door that was labeled 367. Hong Kong suddenly drew a key from his pocket and put it into the keyhole. I thought about asking him where he got the key, but I decided against it. Instead, I just followed him into the pitch black room. Hong Kong flipped a switch and the lights turned on. China's room looked just like mine, except everything in his room was orange and on his wall was the painting that Hong Kong and I had made. _I guess he really did like it._

Even though Hong Kong told me that nobody else would be in the dorm room, I couldn't help but glance around the room, making sure there wasn't someone lying in one of the beds. When I saw no one and was satisfied with this conclusion, I walked over to Hong Kong, who was kneeling at the bedside table next to the bed closest to the door.

The table itself was like a small cabinet that you could find in any house's kitchen. Hong Kong reached out and put his hand on the latch that would open the door. He turned to me and said, "This is the cute thing I wanted to show you. Sit right here!" He used his hand that wasn't on the latch to pat the ground right next to him. I sat down where he said, but the space was very cramped, since Hong Kong was right next to the bed and he wanted me to also have a good view of whatever-the-heck was in the cabinet. So, to accommodate both of us, Hong Kong and I were pressed right up next to each other. My breath hitched as I leaned into him. He leaned his face in a bit, and I followed suit. Now both of our faces were right in front of the cabinet.

"So, what is it?" I breathed excitedly. The anticipation was building quickly, and I just _had_ to know what was closed within the small cabinet. I turned to face Hong Kong, who had apparently turned himself to face me. Now our noses bumped into each other and I began to blush. _I've never been this close to another guy before... It would be so easy to just _kiss_ him!_ I hated myself for having that thought, but I couldn't get it out of my head.

But, then again, I didn't really want to get the image out of my head. It was so clear: I would lean in towards Hong Kong, my eyes closed, and our lips would connect. He would kiss me back with passion, and we would just stay like that. I would be able to finally taste those sweet lips of his, feel his luscious hair in my hands, connect our heart beats as one. I would let him take over from there. He could tell me to do anything and I would do it happily.

I sighed as I imagined this too-perfect scenario, because no matter how much I wished it could come true, I knew that my dream was stupid and farfetched and I should forget all about it. I turned my blushing face away from Hong Kong and back towards the cabinet. Hong Kong did the same, and he slowly opened the door.

I gasped.

**A/N: I'm sorry that Hong Kong and Iceland are so OOC, but they kinda have to be for this little story arc to work, I guess. Hehe...**

**Oh, and I just want to remind you guys that I don't own Hetalia or anything that I mention in this story! **

**Thank you walroose, Lycoris1305, Wisely-san, xGreySkiesx, and you lovely readers! Seriously, I wouldn't be able to write **_**anything**_** if it weren't for you guys and your reviews and support!**

**Review, da?**


	16. Looking

**A/N: Wow, I'm actually updating this again! Yay! I don't have anything to say other than enjoy~**

**Chapter 16: Looking**

I gasped.

And then I laughed.

"What is that thing? Hello Kitty?" I spluttered between laughs and gasps of air. The entire bedside cabinet was stuffed to the brim with relics of a cute, white, kitty. I leaned in closer to the opened cabinet and suddenly realized that the cat was _not_ in fact Hello Kitty. This cat had a smile, and I was pretty sure that Hello Kitty didn't. I looked up at Hong Kong's giggling face. "Wait, that's definitely not Hello Kitty. What is it then?"

"That's Shinatty!" Hong Kong laughed.

I stared blankly for a second and then raised one eyebrow. "What?"

"Shinatty," Hong Kong repeated. "It's like Hello Kitty, but the Chinese version. When China was, I dunno, I think when he was seven his family took a month long vacation to China and when he came home he had this cute stuffed animal cat that apparently is really popular over there. He said that its name was Shinatty, and he carried that thing around with him everywhere. Later, when he tried to get other Shinatty things, you know, like shirts and toys and games and stuff, he found out that he couldn't get Shinatty stuff here in the States. He begged his mom to let him buy stuff online, but she didn't want to pay for the shipping and stuff. That's when I had an idea. For China's ninth birthday I bought him a Hello Kitty plushie and then I drew a smile on it before I gave it to him. He loved it!"

"He didn't realize that it was a fake?" I asked.

Hong Kong shrugged. "Well, he _was_ only nine, so it took him about a month to figure it out, but he was still too happy to really care. After that he just collected Hello Kitty merchandise and he put the smiles on it himself."

I looked back at the cabinet full of shirts, dolls, alarm clocks, posters, trading cards, and other things and saw the small hand-drawn smiles. A small smirk appeared on my own face. _Yeah, I guess it _is_ kinda cute that China collects these things, but it's still pretty ridiculous._

Hong Kong and I looked at the fake Shinatty cats for another minute before we finally stood up. I stretched my back and asked, "Is there anything else in here we 'have' to see? I'm still kinda nervous about being in here, so the sooner we get to leave, the better."

Hong Kong looked at me for a second, his eyes trailing over my face before he said, "I just wanna have a quick look around then we can leave. I promise." He spoke softly and he sounded a bit distracted. I didn't really think much about it, because then Hong Kong started to slink around the room. The only thing is, when I say he "slinked" around the room, I really mean he did this hilarious crouched-down-side-step, his arms fully extended away from his body as he slowly moved around the room's perimeter. _What is he even doing!_ I smiled and walked normally up to him, tapping him on the shoulder.

"Are you done? Let's just walk normally; I think it'll be faster." Hong Kong blushed and looked away. He dropped his arms to his side and started to walk around the room. I followed him and we moved methodically throughout the space. We opened the drawers of his dresser and carefully rifled through them, we peeked in the bathroom, and we even looked under his bed. All we could find was a few books and some letters that had been sent to him from home (and no, we didn't read them). After about 15 minutes of searching Hong Kong and I sat on China's bed.

"I thought we could find out some secrets about China by doing this, but we didn't and now I feel bad for dragging you into this." Hong Kong sighed and I looked at him, my eyes softening at his defeatist attitude.

"Hey, we can still learn more about China! We're still gonna follow him around, right?" I put my hand on Hong Kong's shoulder and slowly, awkwardly (since I'm not a fan of human contact), rubbed it in little circles.

Hong Kong turned his sad brown eyes towards me. It took him a moment to process what I said and then his eyes widened. "You'll, you'll still do that with me?" I half forced a smile and I nodded. Hong Kong's face brightened and he exclaimed, "Ice, you're the best! If you weren't straight I think I'd kiss you right now!" Hong Kong jumped up, re-energized, and he started to go over the room one more time. I stayed on the bed, my mouth hanging open. _Did he just say...?_ My brain told me that I had heard Hong Kong right, but my heart didn't want to get its hopes up.

After a full minute of me sitting there stupidly, I finally shook my head and returned to reality. I didn't want to do anything other than think about what Hong Kong had just said to me, but I forced myself to look around a tiny bit more, for Hong Kong's sake. I looked at the bedside cabinet and noticed that at the top, over the door that contains the Shinatty shrine, was a small drawer. I pulled on it, expecting to find more Shinatty things, but instead found nail clippers, a small pack of tissues, some acne cream and... "Oh Guð..." I sighed as I looked at the half-empty tube of lubricant in the drawer.

"Did you say something?" Hong Kong asked as he poked his head out of the bathroom, the last place he said he wanted to check before we left.

I slammed the drawer shut before Hong Kong could see anything. "Huh? N-nope. I didn't say anything!" I internally cursed myself as I felt my eye twitch slightly. _What if he gets suspicious and comes over here? I mean, yeah, we saw China and Russia that time in the closet, and I know Hong Kong knew what they were doing, but I think that his little heart would just break if he saw that!_ Hong Kong raised an eyebrow and looked at me for a moment before he shrugged and returned to stalking in the bathroom. I sighed. "That was a close one," I whispered to myself.

A couple minutes later Hong Kong and I were standing in the hallway outside of China's room. Hong Kong took out his key and locked China's door again and then he turned towards me. "Well, breakfast still won't be served for a couple of hours, so what do you want to do? You can go back to your room to sleep or-"  
>I cut Hong Kong off, saying, "I want to stay with you." After the words came out I realized how pathetic they sounded, causing me to blush. <em>I sound like some love struck girl in a cheesy TV drama.<em>

But, instead of laughing at me or anything, Hong Kong just smiled and said, "Yay! Let's go find somewhere we can hang out until breakfast time."

I closed my eyes and thought for a second before I decided to do something crazy. I said, "I know this cool place, come on, I'll show you." _I can't believe I'm bringing Hong Kong to my tree, since it's kinda my only sanctuary, but I feel like I can really trust him._ So I led Hong Kong out of the school and into the forest. As we exited the front door the thought occurred to me that we could run into China while he was on his walk, but that didn't stop me. Hong Kong didn't say anything about the matter either, and he actually stayed quiet for the entire walk to the tree.

The walk was actually quite pleasant. The sky was still dark and there was a cool mist in the warm air, so I was very comfortable. Our silence wasn't awkward; it was more like our way of appreciating the beauty of nature. My shoe-less feet got damp in the dew-covered grass, but I didn't mind. I swung my arms at my side as we walked, and Hong Kong kept his hands in his pockets.

When we got to the foot of the tree, I looked up through the branches and then I glanced at Hong Kong. He had pulled his hands from his pocket and his head was craned back as he got a good look at the humongous tree. "Well, this is it," I said dryly. "I like to come out here when I need to think. Umm... actually, if it's okay with you, could you not tell anyone about this place? Especially not Norge or Denny, they'd just get worried if they knew I liked to climb this tree."

Hong Kong nodded and then shot a smile at me. "We can climb up? Yes!" Hong Kong immediately started to bounce up and down. He suddenly realized what he was doing and regained his composure.

I walked up to the trunk and grabbed the closest limb, hoisting myself up. "Come on!" I started to climb the tree, making sure to go slow so that Hong Kong could follow me and watch where I put my feet. We made it up to my perch, and I straddled the branch and shimmied out on it so that Hong Kong could lean his back against the trunk. Once we both got settled on the branch, we sat and took in the calm morning for a minute. Then Hong Kong locked eyes with me.

"So, do you come up here often? Because this place is sweet! I mean, just look at that view!" Hong Kong turned around excitedly and looked at the scenery.

"Yeah, I like it up here." I smiled as I looked back towards the school. I said quietly, "You're the first person I brought here, but I'm glad you got to see it. You really seem to appreciate this kind of place."  
>Hong Kong must have realized how special this place was for me, because he spoke in a much calmer voice than before. He said, "Thanks for deeming me worthy of seeing this. I can see why you like it so much up here, I feel so relaxed."<p>

And that's where we stayed until it was late enough in the morning that breakfast was being served. We kept up light conversation as we sat in the tree together. I hadn't felt so comfortable in a long time, but one thing _did_ bother me. _'If you weren't straight I think I'd kiss you right now!' _Hong Kong had said it like it was nothing, but I couldn't get the words out of my head. _Does Hong Kong like me? I mean... I like him, as a friend... But, maybe, it's a bit more than that. I don't really know anymore._ These thoughts plagued my mind as Hong Kong and I wasted time in the tree. _Hong Kong is gay, and I'm gay, too. Maybe we could..._ But that was when I forced the images and ideas out of my head. I had already thought about kissing him earlier in the morning when we first broke into China's room, and now the thought resurfaced its ugly head.

Once the sun shone on the far side of the school we decided to climb down from the tree. I was a bit nervous, since Hong Kong was climbing down before me and he didn't know all of the good footholds like I did, but we both made it to the ground safely. We had started to slowly walk back to the school when I asked, "So do you think that China and Russia will already be in the cafeteria when we get there?"

Hong Kong nodded, saying, "Yeah, they're both early risers. We might get there a bit earlier than them, which means we have to hide." I gave Hong Kong a look and he said, "I don't want them to figure out that we're following them! China is _really_ smart, and so is Russia. Not to mention the fact that Russia is freakishly huge and scary! I don't want to think about the things he could do to us if they found out and he got mad." Hong Kong shuddered and I could suddenly see the huge man towering over us, holding a lead pipe, with a creepy, child-like, grin on his face, a weird purple glow around him. The thought scared me, but I convinced myself that no one could be _that_ scary. Hong Kong then said out of nowhere, "You don't have to do this if you don't want to."

I stopped dead in my tracks and looked at him. "I've come this far, haven't I? I mean, I went with you when you broke into China's room, so I don't see the point in backing out now!"

Hong Kong smiled and I started walking again. If only I had known then what was going to happen. If I had been able to look into the future, I don't know if I would have continued. All I know is that I can't look into the future, and so I made a decision then that would forever change my life, and for better or for worse, I had to accept the consequences of my decision.

**A/N: Well, that's that. I hope you guys liked this chapter (even though the end was super over-dramatic)! I'm actually pretty pleased with this, and it's setting up some fun stuff that's gonna happen~ Oh! walroose and I have this inside joke about how people "slink", so that's why Hong Kong was walking so funnily at that part. XD**

**Thanks walroose, Lycoris1305, Wisely-san, xGreySkiesx, enzerukage loves hetalia, and all of you awesome readers! I love you guys for everything, so thank you. And thanks for sticking with this story! XD**

**Review, da?**


	17. Stalking

**A/N: Here's the new update! I had some fun with this, and things are starting to get interesting, so I hope you like it!**

**Chapter 17: Stalking**

Hong Kong and I walked into the school building and headed for the cafeteria. When we got there the room was empty, but the food staff were starting to put out breakfast items. We stood back for a couple of minutes until the cooks finished setting up. We quickly grabbed our food; a fruit cup and some strawberry yogurt for Hong Kong and a toasted bagel with cream cheese for me. Hong Kong knew which table Russia and China always sat at when it was nice enough to eat outside, so we went out onto the patio area. The way the patio is set up is that the square patio is surrounded on two sides by wall and two sides are open to the fields that separate the school from the forest. There are tables placed methodically on the cement, and there's one that is close to the corner where the two walls meet. This table is China's and Russia's. So Hong Kong and I walked out the doors onto the patio and then we followed the second wall onto a path that runs around the school.

"This spot will be safe from view but still close enough so that we can hear what Russia and China are saying," Hong Kong said as we stepped around the corner and out of view from the patio. He sat down and I crouched next to him, still standing so that I would be able to look over him when it was time to peek around the corner at the soon-to-be-there couple.

"How come the other day when I saw you watching them, you were inside? I know you could see them, but didn't you want to be able to hear them too?" I asked.

Hong Kong laughed and said, "Oh, I didn't realize until two days ago that I could hear them from out here! I had been taking a short walk and I stopped here to tie my shoe and by chance Russia and China were sitting at their table for dinner."

I nodded and we ate our breakfast in silence. Both of us had finished, thrown out our trash, and had just sat down again when we heard the door to the cafeteria open, along with a pair of voices.

"Thank you, aru."

"No problem, da?"

Hong Kong's eyes widened and he pointed towards the patio area. "It's them!" he whispered excitedly. I nodded and I stood up a bit. Hong Kong, on his hands and knees, peered around the corner, and I leaned on the wall as I crouched over him, also looking around the wall. _If they see us..._ I didn't want to complete my train of thought, so instead I just focused on our targets.

"Aiyaa, it's such a beautiful morning!" China gazed out towards the forest.

Russia's eyes followed his lover's as he said, "I love mornings. They remind me of you."

China blushed and turned towards the large, scarf-wearing, boy seated next to him. "Wha-what are you saying, aru?"

Russia smiled, making his face look rather child-like, and he took hold of China's hand, which had been resting on the table. He lifted the hand to his mouth and pressed a gentle kiss onto the smooth skin. It was a soft, sweet, kiss, and when Russia pulled away he kept China's hand in his own, intertwining their fingers. "Mornings are so calm and beautiful. They are pure and full of light. Like you."  
>China gaped at Russia for a second before he chuckled and said, "You're so cute when you're saying cheesy lines like that, aru!"<br>Russia pouted, obviously not pleased at being called cheesy, but then he just grinned and scooted his chair closer to China's.  
>It was at this point that I pulled away from the corner and sat down next to Hong Kong. He reluctantly pulled his head back from its spying position and sighed. "So one thing that Russia does that I don't, is compliment him. I'm so awkward when I try to say things like that..."<br>I looked at Hong Kong knowingly and nodded. "That's okay, it's the same with me... I know! Let's practice!" Hong Kong stared at me like I had just grown a second head. "Come on, they're only eating right now, so it's okay if we don't watch their every move. I'll start." _I really want to know what he's gonna say about me. _I cleared my throat and thought for a second before I said, "I got one. Hong Kong, you have great hair!" Hong Kong's face instantly turned red and he looked at the ground. "Your turn to compliment me," I said.  
>Hong Kong looked up from the ground and he searched my face before he whispered, "You have really pretty colored eyes." I was surprised. <em>He's looked at my eyes? I mean, I guess that's normal... And, the way he said it, he sounded like he was telling the truth, not just saying something because I was pressuring him...<em> I stared blankly into Hong Kong's face before we both turned away at the same time.  
>"Th-thanks," I mumbled. We sat in silence until I finally said, "See, that wasn't so hard, now was it? If you just make a point of complimenting at least one person a day, I think that in no time you'll be able to say something like that to China!"<br>Hong Kong nodded and then glanced back around the corner. "They're leaving, let's go!" He jumped to his feet and held his hand out to me. I tilted my head and watched his hand for a second before I realized that he was helping me up. I grabbed it and Hong Kong hoisted me to my feet. "You're really light," he commented as he pressed his body against the wall. I thought about that for a moment as Hong Kong waited for China and Russia to go back into the school. Once I heard the door closing behind them, Hong Kong started to move. I followed close behind.  
>"We have to be careful that they don't see us," Hong Kong reminded me as we tip-toed through the door and into the cafeteria. He pointed and I followed his finger with my gaze until I saw the two boys about forty feet in front of us. They exited through a side door and we started to walk in that direction.<br>I asked, while we walked, "You said that they'd go to the library, right?" Hong Kong nodded, not even glancing back at me. Something seemed a bit off with him. He almost looked confused. I thought about asking him if something was wrong, but instead I just ignored it. We slowly followed the couple to the library. We hid behind a bookcase and watched the two, listening in on their conversation.  
>"Sit with me, da?" There were plenty of comfy looking chairs all throughout the library, and Russia was standing next to one that was only about eight feet away from our bookcase.<br>China nodded and said, "I'll be there in a minute." He disappeared from view as he walked to the other side of the library. Russia sat in the large chair and kept his head turned towards the direction China had gone. After a few minutes of silence, China came back over to Russia, holding a thick book in his hand. Without either having to say a word, China crawled onto Russia's lap and leaned his back on Russia's chest and his head on Russia's shoulder. The large man closed his eyes and smiled, bring on hand up to pet China's long, brown, hair. China cracked open the book to what appeared to be a random page (_he must have already started to read that book... so why doesn't he just check it out from the library?_) and started reading.  
>Hong Kong frowned. "This may take a while."<p>

After an hour and a half of sitting in the library (Hong Kong and I read manga together the whole time), China finally yawned and closed his book. Hong Kong immediately sat up and peered at them from behind the bookcase as I noted what page of Sekaiichi Hatsukoiwe had been reading. I put the book down and joined Hong Kong in looking at the two boys.  
>China had sat up and looked as if he was about to stand, when suddenly Russia's arms wrapped around the skinny boy's waist. "Nyet. Don't leave yet." Russia buried his face into China's back, his arms tightening slightly. China smiled and obliged, relaxing his muscles into his boyfriend's hug.<br>"Aiyaa, you're so strong," China giggled as he and Russia leaned back into the armchair. From my seat on the ground I could even see some of Russia's rippling arm muscles. _Did I just call them rippling? Wow..._ I shook my head, trying to refocus on the scene playing out before me.

"Da," Russia replied with a smile. He shifted a bit so that he could use one of his hands to cup China's cheek and pull him into a deep kiss. China didn't complain, and he just turned so that he could return the kiss easier.  
>I blushed as we watched this. <em>We shouldn't be here!<em> "Come on!" I jumped to my feet and grabbed the back of Hong Kong's black sweatshirt and dragged him behind me. He scrambled to stand up as I continued to pull him. I led us to the hallway just outside the library.  
>"What the-" Hong Kong shouted. His face was red and he looked confused and embarrassed.<br>"Don't do this to yourself. Watching them kiss like that will make it even harder for you. You just," I took a deep breath. "You just have to give it up."  
>Hong Kong looked at me for a second with an expression of hurt that made me feel guilty for being the cause of such pain. But his face quickly contorted into a frown. He glared at me with eyes smoldering with anger. "NO! Why should I have to give up on my one shot at happiness?" Hong Kong sniffled and looked at the floor. He sighed and then brought his eyes back up to mine. His face was much softer and he spoke in a whisper. <em>He's so bipolar!<em> "I'm sorry."  
>I nodded slowly. I tried to maintain the usual emotionless-ness of my voice, but a bit of compassion slipped into my words. "I know you are. It's okay. I'm sorry for being so harsh... You should never give up on your dreams."<br>Hong Kong shook his head. "No, you weren't being harsh." He chuckled and wiped at his eye to try and hide the single teardrop that had fallen. "Wow, I can't believe how creepy I am!"  
>I stared at Hong Kong for a moment before the two of us burst into laughter. I dropped down to my knees and Hong Kong doubled over, clutching his stomach. After we laughed for a good two minutes, I finally reclaimed control of myself and began to calm down. Between a few resounding giggles and gasps for air, I said, "Well, I didn't want to hurt your feelings by telling you earlier, but, yeah, you're pretty creepy!" Hong Kong pouted and punched my arm playfully. "But I guess it was worth it, right? You wanted to learn about Russia and China and..."<p>

Hong Kong shook his head again. He closed his eyes and sat next to me. "I _did_ want to learn about them. I wanted to know why Russia is so much better than me. I wanted China to be mine. But, all day I've been thinking, and after what you just said, I guess it is time to give up on China."

I looked at Hong Kong, shocked. _I can't believe that he's ready to give up on the person he's been in love with for so long..._ I didn't really understand what caused the sudden change, so I asked, "Why? I mean, I'm glad that you finally see that it's time to move on, but what changed? It's been years that you've loved him, right?"

Hong Kong nodded. "Watching China and Russia today, I realized why China loves Russia. It's because he makes him happy." I raised an eyebrow and tilted my head. "I know that when I hang out with China we have fun and he's happy, but I've never seen China look so... at peace with the world, until today. And, though I never understood it before, I know that if you love something you have to let it go. What kind of person purposely tries to ruin his friend's relationship? I-I can't believe that I actually tried to do that! Separating China and Russia would just hurt both of them, and I could never do that! I'm some kind of monster for ever trying..."

I patted Hong Kong's shoulder. "Hey, you're being too hard on yourself. Everyone wants to be happy. It's human nature. Sure, I think that your method of obtaining happiness was screwed up, but it's alright. I know that you don't feel good right now, but think of how guilty you'd feel if you made China and Russia break up." I smiled at Hong Kong, who now had his head held in his hands. "Let's go. Sitting here won't do anything. You will find happiness someday. I don't when or where you'll find it, but you _will _find it, just not back in there." I jerked my thumb behind me, indicating the library. _Guð, I sound so sappy right now..._

Hong Kong nodded again and we stood up and started to walk down the hallway. "Sorry for making you wake up so early this morning for this," Hong Kong apologized, blushing slightly due to his embarrassment.

"It's nothing! Haha, and I _love_ these outfits we wore, so it's all good!" We both glanced at each other in our completely black outfits and laughed, still walking. I didn't know where we were going, but I didn't care, so I just kept my mouth shut. I looked towards Hong Kong and was surprised to find that he was already looking at me. He had the same confused look that he had when we had been walking to the library earlier. He quickly looked away, not letting our eyes make contact. This made me a bit annoyed, and since this was the second time today that he had that weird look, I decided to question him about it. "Hey, are you okay? You just had this funny look on your face... You're not sick or anything, right?"

Hong Kong kept his head turned away as he answered dryly, "It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

_At least he's not sick,_ I thought as I decided to drop the topic. There was definitely something strange going on, but after Hong Kong's emotionally straining day, I figured it was best to leave that discussion for another time. I coughed and changed the subject, not wanting an awkward silence to settle between us. "Sooooo... where are we going?" We were far away from the library, just wandering through hallways filled with dorm rooms. Something about our location felt familiar, but I couldn't place why.

"I dunno. I just was gonna try and get lost. I like to do that when I need to think," Hong Kong said with a shrug. I also shrugged and nodded, perfectly okay with this course of action. We just kept walking down the hallway together, seemingly happy. I internally smiled and felt content with being with Hong Kong.

_Hong Kong... I think that I... like him. _I mentally slapped myself in the face. _Yes! Fine, I'll admit that I really, really, like Hong Kong. _Again, I internally got slapped across my cheek. It was like I was having a fight with myself, my brain doing the talking while my heart was doing the attacking. _I LOVE HONG KONG! HAPPY NOW?_ In my imagination my heart was hugging me for finally listening to what it had to say. I used the word "love", but I still couldn't say that I knew what that meant exactly. I just knew that spending today with Hong Kong was one of the happiest days I've had in a long time. Before my parents died I used to be happy a lot, but since it became only Norge and I, those times were harder to come by. But something about the small Asian next to me just seemed to make me forget to be emotionless. Hong Kong really brought out the best side of me. I have no clue what kind of magic he used, but he seemed to effortlessly take down all of my barriers, and for some reason, I liked that.

I looked over at the boy that I had just decided that I loved. I was on Cloud Nine, though I kept my face as blank as I could manage. I was so distracted from everything that I didn't really watch where I was walking. I still had no shoes on (since I didn't have black shoes so I only wore black socks, remember?) and so I my socked foot suddenly slipped from under me. I didn't even know it was possible to slip like that on a carpeted floor, but I slipped and completely lost all balance. I gasped and fell towards the hard ground. I shut my eyes and waited for the pain.

When nothing happened, I opened my eyes.

I looked into the concerned face of Hong Kong. He had one hand gently cradling my head and one arm wrapped tightly around my waist. He was panting as he closed his eyes and sighed in relief. I couldn't breathe for a moment. I could feel my whole body tremble slightly. Without even knowing it, I had wrapped both of my arms around Hong Kong's neck. I glanced around to get my bearings. Both of my feet were on the ground, but I was held at an odd angle. Hong Kong was still standing on his feet, but he was bent low to catch me. "Th-thanks," I muttered. I was so flustered and shaken up.

Hong Kong opened his eyes again and he studied my face. He whispered, "Doki doki." I had no clue what that meant, but I didn't bother to question it. I felt so safe wrapped in his skinny arms and I didn't want to speak, fearing that if I did, Hong Kong would put me down.

I suddenly got that overwhelming desire to kiss him again. Without even thinking, I pulled one of my arms back from around his neck and I slowly allowed my hand to brush the hair out of Hong Kong's eyes. His face was red (and I'm sure mine wasn't any better), but he didn't do anything to stop me. I placed my hand ever-so-lightly on Hong Kong's red cheek. His skin was actually quite warm to the touch, and very smooth. My fingers opened up and felt around his jaw and cheekbone. The sensation of caressing someone was so foreign to me, but it felt amazing. I didn't want to back down. I wanted to kiss Hong Kong. I wanted to tell him what I felt without having to actually speak. I wanted him to show to me that he liked me back. I closed my eyes and I could feel Hong Kong straightening up. He pulled me up as well, but this only brought our faces closer. I opened my mouth slightly and held my breath.

Then I was suddenly reminded why this hallway felt so familiar.

"Ice?"

**A/N: Okay, so ****Sekaiichi Hatsukoi**** is an awesome anime and manga, though it is a yaoi. Ice was reading it because I thought it would be funny, but please don't take it to mean that he likes reading yaoi, rather, just see it as I needed to use some manga for him to read, and I wanted to see if anyone recognized it! I don't own it, by the way.**

"**Doki" is Japanese for heartbeat. I know that Hong Kong is Chinese, but he says doki so many times in his character song (which I don't own) that I thought it would be appropriate to have him say that here. (Again, just seeing if any of you guys can pick up on these inside jokes that I fill this story with.)**

**Well, thank you walroose, Lycoris1305, Wisely-san, xGreySkiesx, enzerukage loves hetalia, and you lovelies who read this! X3**

**Review, da?**


	18. Clash

**A/N: So I have no excuses. I'm so, so, sorry for taking this long to update! I feel like an awful person! I hope that this, lame, short, chapter makes up for it… but I know it won't! THANK YOU IF YOU STILL READ THIS!**

**Oh yeah, and you guys really should thank walroose, because if it weren't for her I'd still be banging my head against a wall. No joke, this story would be nowhere if it weren't for her and her trolling. Please enjoy this!**

**Chapter 18: Clash**

"Ice?"

Hong Kong dropped me onto the ground as Norge and Denny came out of their dorm room, looking shocked. I felt my stomach sink and I didn't know what to say. _Norge saw us! Oh no! Oh no..._ I instantly remembered the time when Hong Kong and Norge first met: Norge was overprotective and so he treated Hong Kong like an enemy, and, not liking his attitude, Hong Kong quickly returned that hatred towards Norge. It didn't even make sense, but that's Norge for you. If he thinks that I could get hurt in the slightest while with someone, he won't let me talk with them, much less have a relationship with them.

And now Norge had seen Hong Kong about to kiss me. Great.

"Get away from my baby brother," Norge said in a cold voice.

Hong Kong ignored him and reached a hand out to me. I glanced between Norge and Hong Kong, not wanting to have to pick a side. I clenched my eyes shut as I put my trembling hand into Hong Kong's outstretched one. He pulled me to my feet, but, instead of letting go of my hand, he used my momentum to twist me into his arms. I blushed. I wanted to get the two of them away from each other, but I knew that there was no use in trying at this point. "Please don't tell me what to do," Hong Kong said in a calm voice.

"Get. Away. From. Him," Norge said through gritted teeth. Norge shows his emotions even less than I do, but if I'm involved, he can easily fly off the handle and show his anger.

"Hey, guys, just calm down," I said quietly.

"Stay out of this!" both boys snapped at the same time.

Hong Kong clutched me possessively, which made me blush, and Norge stepped closer. Denny seemed to have picked up on the animosity between the two, and so he stayed a safe distance back. A few people seemed to have noticed the argument, and they started to form a loose circle around us.

Norge shot Hong Kong an icy glare. "Seriously, let go of Iceland, you pervert. I'm not stupid, I saw you about to kiss him!"

Hong Kong bristled and replied, "For your information, Ice was going to kiss me back. It's not like I was forcing myself on him when he didn't want it. So stop calling me a pervert! You don't even know anything, yo-"

"I know that you're trying to get all up in my brother's business. Just let him be. I don't want you touching him like th-"

Now it was Norge's turn to be cut off as Hong Kong said, "Just because you're his older brother doesn't mean that you can control every little thing in his life, and you certainly can't control me! If I wanna touch him, then I will!" This made me blush even more. I just wanted to get out of there. I knew better than to talk at the moment, though, so I tugged on Hong Kong's sleeve. He redirected his glare from Norge to me. I looked at him with the saddest expression I could muster. I wanted him to understand how I felt, but he just turned away. But before he could fully hide his face, I caught a flash of guilt in his features. _He already knows… But he's not going to back down, is he?_

Norge twitched a bit. He did not look amused. "You're right. I can't control you. But you still can't touch him. He's not some play thing for you to use for your dirty desires. Now I suggest letting him go, unless you want this to get ugly." Norge's face was plain, but I knew that his threat bared truth.

"You think that you can threaten me? Seriously, I don't know why you hate me, but just back off," Hong Kong grunted.

"You just expect me to sit back and watch you rape my brother? Of course I hate you," Norge said in an eerily quiet voice.

"What?" Hong Kong screamed in disbelief. "This isn't rape! I haven't even kissed him yet! You shouldn't hate someone because they _like_ your brother. You're way too overprotective!"

Norge raised his voice a tiny bit as he spoke. "I'm not going to listen to this anymore. I'm just doing my job as an older brother by protecting him from scum like you! He's too young to be in a relationship!"

The crowd around us kept getting larger, and Denny stayed planted where he was during this whole fight.

"If I like him and he likes me, why can't we be in a relationship? Just because you and Denny can't admit your feelings for each other doesn't mea-"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Norge started to get a slight blush on his cheeks. "And even if I was in a relationship with that idiot," Denny looked slightly hurt at that. "It's not the same. I'm older and more responsible. Iceland can be easily manipulated. He has no clue what his feelings are."

By that point I had become pretty annoyed. I don't like people talking about me like I'm not in the room, even though I'm right in front of them. I went against my better judgment and said,"Shut up, both of you. I-"

"Not now, Iceland," both said in unison, again.

"Ice isn't dumb. He knows what he feels. You think that you know?" Hong Kong retorted.

"I know him better than you do," Norge snapped. "Now, come on Ice. Let's go." He addressed me, but his eyes never left Hong Kong.

"You don't have to do everything he tells you, ya know," Hong Kong said quietly, eyeing Norge back.

I was dumbfounded. I had no clue what just happened, and now I had no clue what to do. Whoever's side I picked left me screwed. _Do I want Norge or Hong Kong to hate me?_ Hong Kong suddenly let me go and he took a couple steps back. "Ice, you have to pick. Who's it gonna be? Me or Norge?" Norge nodded, seemingly agreeing to this course of action.

"What?" was all I was able to say in my shocked state. Hong Kong, Norge, Denny, and everyone in the crowd stared at me. _What am I supposed to do?_ Not knowing what to do, I just stood still, not even breathing.

"Ice, pick already. And stop holding your breath, it's not good for you," Norge scolded in a slightly irritated voice.

"Seriously, do you ever stop telling him what to do?" Hong Kong asked.

"Stay out of this," Norge warned.

"Or what?"

Norge scoffed. "I told you this would get ugly if you didn't back off."

Hong Kong barked out a laugh. "Yeah, I'd like to see that!"

"Fine." With that, Norge lunged forward, fist raised.

Suddenly, everything seemed to slow down. I turned my head to see Hong Kong's horrified face. I whipped back around to see Norge shut his eyes as he drew nearer. "No!" I screamed. Before I knew what my feet were doing, I had jumped in front of Hong Kong.

Norge's fist came in. Hard.

Crack.

My knees buckled.

Everything began to move at normal speed again. I had fallen to the floor, slumped at Hong Kong's feet. A full ten seconds passed where there was no noise. Then Denny broke the silence. "Oh God! Ice! Iceland!" I couldn't feel any pain, thanks to the shock, but the sudden panic in his voice made me scared. I opened my eyes, but my vision was fuzzy and blackness was starting to cloud the corners of my sight. I felt nauseous. I felt a hot liquid streaming down my face.

"Iceland? Hang in there, I'll get help!" Hong Kong's face hovered in my field of vision for a second before everything went black. I let a tiny smile creep onto my face. _Hong Kong will make sure I'm okay._

And with that comforting thought, I passed out on the floor.

**A/N: …..I'M SORRY ICELAND! What have I done! I hope this wasn't too bad. And I promise to post the next chapter much sooner!**

**Thanks so much to everyone who reads and reviews this, walroose, Lycoris1305, Wisely-san, xGreySkiesx, and Mastication-Defenestration! I love you guys, sorry for taking this long to update.**

**Review, da?**


	19. Hospitals Are Depressing

**A/N: I told you that I would update sooner this time! Yay! Enjoy~**

**Chapter 19: Hospitals Are Depressing**

Nothing made sense. I kept going in and out of consciousness. One moment, I was lying on the ground and I could see worried faces staring down at me, but everything was silent. The next instant, I couldn't see but I could hear a strange rattling sound before I got lifted up onto a gurney. What seemed like a split second later, I was looking up at a white ceiling with extremely bright lights.

The fourth time I opened my eyes, they stayed open and I could hear everything. I was all alone in a hospital room. The shades were drawn on the window, making it fairly dark, since by then it was night time, but I could still see enough to get my bearings. I was in a bed that was pushed back against a wall, with a window on my left and a door on my right. In front of me was a wall lined with medical tools and a television. Directly to my right was a table that had flowers and gifts and cards on it. Curious, I picked up one of the cards. The front of the card featured a cute puppy with a kitten sitting on its head, the words "GET WELL SOON", and the inside read:

_Iceland, I really hope you get better soon! I hope these cookies help, I know they make me feel better when I get a little depressed. Love, Finland._

Next to the card was a bag filled with huge chocolate chip cookies that made my mouth water. I wanted to eat one, but I decided to read the rest of the cards first. The next one I picked up showed snowy scenery of a waterfall with a moose besides it. The note inside was short and to the point.

_Ice, get well soon. Sweden. PS, Finny said to get you something, so I thought you might like this._

I looked down and next to the card was a Pussycat Dolls CD. I blushed. Obviously that night when I sang karaoke with Finny and Sweden left an impression on the stoic man. _Oh well._ I let out a small laugh as I put down the CD to grab another card. This one had a lot of loud colors on the front and said "Get Well" in many different fonts. The inside was just as loud, written in an array of colored Sharpie, it said:

_Icey! I can't believe what happened! I hope you get better really, really, quickly! If you don't, I'll get really sad! Love Denny and Norge~_

There were a ton of hearts next to the names so I concluded that Denny was really the one to leave the message and Norge just signed it. The card had been resting next to a vase of flowers, so I assumed that they went with the card. The arrangement was actually quite nice, a mix of multi-colored wild flowers, and it smelled really good. I sat and took in the sweet scent for a minute before I reached for the next card. This one also had a cat on it, but it was accompanied by many other felines.

_Hey Ice, I hope you get well soon. I'll watch over the room while you're gone. Oh, and Japan sends you his best wishes, too. Greece._

The signature was followed by six little cat paw prints. I smiled and picked up the last card. This one was hand-made, beautiful watercolors showing a cherry tree in full blossom. Inside was small, neat, handwriting.

_Iceland, I'm so sorry. This was all my fault. I hope you can forgive me. Thanks for everything. I really hope you get well soon. Hong Kong._

I felt bad that Hong Kong blamed himself for what happened. Sure, I took the punch for him, but Norge was the one who threw the punch. I didn't blame anyone, in all honesty. I sighed and tried to put those thoughts into words to tell Hong Kong the next time I saw him, as I reached for the gift he had left. It was an adorable, plush, puffin. I blinked at it and smiled. _Oh Hong Kong…_ I chuckled as I snuggled the gift close to my chest. Just that childish toy made me feel a lot better. The fact that I had all of these people who care about me really touched me. Though it may not seem like I have a large number of friends, I'd never had so many since before I entered Hetalia Prep. I looked at my gifts, all very special in their own way, when I realized that I still had one more vase filled with flowers next to me and an unopened card.

Before I opened the card, I was distracted by the dazzling flowers next to me. A rainbow of tulips filled the vase, and I just wanted to stare at the perfect flowers for an hour, but I shook my head and grabbed the card. _Who could have sent me these?_ I wondered. I had already received gifts from all of my friends. I looked at the front of the card. It showed a beautiful sunset with a windmill resting in a bed of tulips. I opened it up to see very familiar handwriting.

_Iceland, I'm so sorry to hear about what happened. I hope that you can recover quickly and return to class. It won't be the same without seeing your bright face every afternoon. Sincerely-_

I froze when I saw the name.

And then, the man who had given me said card, walked into my room.

"Mr. Netherlands?" I asked. I had already been disoriented when I woke up, but now I was just confused. _Why is he here?_

"Oh, Iceland, I'm glad to see that you're awake." He smiled that gorgeous smile of his. (Okay, I love Hong Kong, but it's not that easy to give up on a crush, alright?)

"Why are you here?" I asked flatly.

"Well, seeing as Hong Kong found me and asked me to help you, I figured that I should take responsibility of you and the others," he said, confusing me more. _What "others" is he talking about?_ He continued, "I mean, you're a student off of school grounds. You need to have a chaperone, and same with the other guys who-"

"Who are these other people you keep talking about?" I asked, adding in a tone of irritation.

"Haha, oh, I'm sorry! I meant Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Hong Kong. They're all here to see you. I had to take the ambulance with you, since the school can't just send you out alone, but I called a taxi to take the others here. Good thing they have those minivan taxis! But, technically, I shouldn't have let the five of them ride in the car without a teacher, so if you please not say anything about it…" Mr. N broke off, a smile on his face.

"Alright. But, can I see them?" I really wanted to talk to Norge and Hong Kong. Sure, it would be nice to see the other three, but I had to get everything settled between us.

"Oh, of course! I actually have to go sign some paper thingies anyways, so I'll leave you boys alone," he said. He disappeared out the door. Not even a minute later, the door re-opened and I could just recognize Denny's tall frame before he sprinted over to me and crushed me in a bear hug.

"Oh Icey, I was so scared! After Norge hit you and you fell to the ground! I mean, there was blood everywhere!" he cried.

_That's right. I know I was hit in the face. I know I'm in the hospital now. But I have no clue what actually is wrong with me!_ After that realization I asked the crazy man who was choking me, "So, what happened?"

Denny blinked at me and raised an eyebrow. "You don't remember? Norge went to punch Hong Kong and you jumped in his way like a boss!"

I gave him a blank stare before I said, "Yeah, I know that much. But why am I in the hospital?"

Suddenly Norge appeared at the side of my bed. He yanked Denny off of me and whispered, "Denny, let go. You're hurting him." Then he looked at me with uncharacteristically sad eyes. "Ice, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have let my anger get the best of me. I-"

I put up my hand to stop him from saying anymore. "Norge, it's okay. I don't blame you, and we can talk about that in a minute. But please, can someone tell me what happened to me?"

Norge looked a bit angry at being cut off, but he sighed. He opened his mouth when suddenly Denny jumped back onto the bed. He put an arm around my shoulder and held up a hand mirror (I have no clue where he got it from). "Just look for yourself!" he exclaimed happily.

"Wha-?" I asked before I gasped. I didn't recognize the person staring back at me through the reflective surface. There was no way that was my face. Even under the bandages I could tell that the nose was swollen. The eyes looked sunken underneath the blackish-blue bruises that stretched across the face. The face's chin was stained a red tint, telling me that a lot of blood had been running down it. And, there were tears. The cheeks of the sad face were shiny and wet with a couple of tears. _I don't cry. That can't be me…_

But it was. That broken face that stared at me dully was mine. I hadn't even known that I was crying until I saw it in my reflection. The tears weren't from the pain, since I still couldn't feel anything, but I think that they were from something else.

"Yeah, when Norge knocked your lights out, he completely broke your nose! I'd never seen somebody's nose lying flat against their cheek like that before. God, that must have hurt! I'm actually impressed that Norge could throw such a strong punch!" Denny laughed. It was really annoying how much he seemed to enjoy this entire situation.

"Iceland," a soft voice said by my ear. I whipped my head to the left to see who was talking, but, in doing so, the sudden motion caused me to feel slightly dizzy. I held both hands to my head for a second, and then the pain started to set in. With each beat of my heart, this throbbing sensation overcame my face, constantly worsening. _I knew this would happen sooner or later…_ I sighed and let go of my head, finally looking at the person who was trying to talk to me. Hong Kong stood there, with humongous, sad, eyes. He whispered, "How do you feel?"

The pained expression on his face actually surprised me. _He's really upset by this._ I smiled a bit and lied, "I feel fine. Don't worry about it." And then Hong Kong put his hand on my shoulder. I twitched at the contact, but I didn't shrug him away.

"Hey Ice. I hope you get better soon." I looked up to see Finny at the foot of my bed, Sweden right behind him. "Umm… I know we just got here, but I think you guys need to be left alone. We'll be in the hallway. Come on Su-san!" Finny turned to leave. Sweden reached out one of his long arms suddenly, and grabbed Denny's shirt. He yanked him off the bed and dragged the protesting man out of the room with him.

"Wait! What is this?" Denny managed to shout before the door closed. Now I was alone with Norge and Hong Kong. Yay.

The tension was palpable. Hong Kong was on the left side of the bed and Norge was on the right side. I didn't know what to say, so I just sat there, waiting for one of the others to start.

"I'm sorry," Hong Kong and Norge said at the same time. They both looked at each other in shock.

"Why are you sorry?" Norge asked.

"I shouldn't have interfered. If you don't approve of our relationship, then I'll back off. I know that Ice needs you, and I don't want to ruin anything between the two of you," Hong Kong said as he bowed his head.

"No. You don't have to apologize. I shouldn't have gotten angry, and I never should have tried to punch you. I'm sorry, especially to you Iceland. I let things get out of hand and now you're in the hospital," Norge whispered. He shifted his eyes to the ground as he slumped his shoulders a bit.

"It's not just your fault, Norge. I provoked you. I'm also sorry. Ice, you shouldn't be the one in here like this right now. So, thank you for protecting me, but I'm sorry that it got to the point that I needed protection." Hong Kong didn't even lift his head as he spoke.

"Well this is depressing," I mumbled. Both heads shot up to look at me, confused. I let a microscopic smile grace my features. "Hospitals are so depressing. People go around moping all the time, even if they did nothing wrong. Personally, I hate it when people do that." I gave both of my companions a knowing look. "I don't blame anyone. And I mean, it's not like I'm going to die because I have a broken nose." The other two stared at me with blank expressions. "Wow, I'm hungry. Wanna depression cookie?" I asked, picking up the bag of cookies that Finny had left for me.

"What?" Norge asked. Hong Kong's face showed he also had no clue what I was talking about.

I chuckled and started to eat one of the delicious cookies. _I wonder when and where Finny made these…_

Norge watched me for a moment and shook his head. Then he got to his feet and went towards the door. "I'll tell the others they can come in now. I think that we've settled this. I give you two my blessing, should you wish to date each other." I choked on my bite of cookie as my brother left the room.

Hong Kong's eyes widened and we both turned to face each other. _Did Norge just…?_ I blinked at Hong Kong and he smiled. "Ice, there's something I want to tell you."

I felt my heart beat hard against my chest. "Yes?" I wanted to hold onto every word that Hong Kong was saying, but that feeling of nausea had returned, causing me a lot of discomfort.

"I really like you. Would you…. Would you like to go on a date with me?" His brown eyes shone beautifully.

"I-" But before I could say anything else, the nausea overcame me. I turned to the right and vomited on the floor. I formed my hand into a fist and hit myself in the forehead. _Why? Why do things like this happen to me?_

Hong Kong laughed and said, "I'll get a nurse." He walked to the door but stopped short. "And I'm taking that as a yes." And with that, he walked away.

Just as he left, Norge and the other three re-entered the room. They saw the mess on the floor, though, and walked back into the hallway, leaving me alone again.  
>"Maybe hospitals aren't always depressing…" I mused aloud with a chuckle.<p>

**A/N: Whoa, wait. Did I actually put a HongIce moment into this story? Haha, I told you that was gonna happen! Sorry for making you guys wait this long…. Cookies for everyone! (Which reminds me…. walroose and I have a headcanon thing about Finland making what we call "depression cookies"…. Hehe, that's where that came from!)**

**Well thank you walroose, Lycoris1305, Wisely-san, xGreySkiesx, and Mastication-Defenestration, and all of you awesome people who bother to read this story and who leave me great reviews! I really can't thank you all enough!**

**Review, da?**


	20. Doubts

**A/N: I'm so sorry guys. I don't know what's wrong with me. This update took waaaaay too long, and I don't have a reason as to why. Really, I'm sorry, but if you're still reading this, thank you! I wanna give a HUGE shout out to MrGuiltyrose for kicking me into gear. I AM alive! Well, I really hope you all like this long-awaited chapter.**

**Chapter 20: Doubts**

I could have gone home that night, but by the time I was cleared to go, it was 3:05 AM, so the hospital, since it wasn't very busy, said I could stay in my room until later in the morning. Mr. N was really against leaving me, especially because he had already broken school rules due to my injury, but he finally agreed to take the other five back to the school in a taxi. The hospital staff assured him that they'd call me a taxi in the morning and that I would be perfectly safe.

I slept for a couple of hours in the hospital, and then at 6:12 I told my nurse that I was ready to go. I got a taxi and made my way back to the school without issue. Because it was a Sunday morning, the hallways were empty when I came back in. I went to Mr. N's classroom, since he had told me he'd be there, and that he wanted me to check in with him once I returned.

"Umm… I'm back, Mr. N," I said quietly from the doorway.

He looked up from some papers that were spread across his desk. "Oh good! You had no problems, right? Well, I don't want to keep you here, since I know you need your rest." I nodded and started to leave, but he called after me, "Oh! And you have permission to take the next couple days off from classes." I nodded again.

"Okay. Thank you, for everything." Then I left, Mr. N watching me go with a surprised expression on his face.

I got to my room and opened the door. Greece and his seven cats were all curled up on his bed. I tiptoed over to my own bed and sat down. I surprisingly wasn't tired. _Probably the adrenaline from breaking my nose… or from when Hong Kong asked me out…_ I was really excited. I could finally be with Hong Kong without feeling like I was sneaking behind Norge's back. Already antsy from sitting down, I got up and grabbed some fresh clothes and went to the bathroom to take a shower.

I stared in the mirror. I couldn't believe that it was only yesterday morning that Hong Kong and I were outside, stalking China and Russia. But that thought made me uneasy. _Hong Kong _just _got over China. How can I know that he really meant it when he said he liked me? What if he's using me as some sort of fall-out-rebound guy?_ The realization that I might just be a stepping stone for Hong Kong made my heart sink.

"No, he wouldn't do that," I tried to reassure myself. _But can he really get over China that fast?_ I swallowed thickly and pushed the thought out of my mind while I stripped out of the clothes that Norge had brought for me when I was at the hospital. I stood in front of the mirror and stared at my pale skin. _Why would Hong Kong like me? I'm nothing special..._ I looked at my frail arms. They're skinny and a bit lanky, not good for lifting a lot of weight. My shoulders aren't a whole lot better, not broad or strong like Sweden's or Denny's, and my chest has no muscular build. I tilted my head at looked down to my somewhat flat feet. My toes are oddly pudgy compared to the rest of my body. My legs are hairless (the same goes for my armpits, chest, and back) but they have a bit of muscle to them from all of the walking around I do. My knees are a tiny bit knobby and pointy. I continued my self-search, and noticed that, for a guy, I have pretty wide hips. Then my eyes fixed on my "junk". I blushed as I looked at myself. I'd never felt comfortable with the fact that I am, admittedly, pretty small. _What would Hong Kong think?_ I suddenly froze when I realized the implications of that concern. I spared one last glance at my small(-ish) penis before I turned my eyes to the shower.

After I had gotten all cleaned up I went down to the cafeteria to eat breakfast. I hadn't felt up to eating in the hospital, so I was really hungry by the time I got there. The room was pretty full but I didn't see anyone that I wanted to sit with. So, after getting myself a stack of waffles topped with whipped cream and fresh strawberries, I found an empty table to eat at. I was actually thankful that I got to be alone; it gave me time to think things through. _So yesterday Hong Kong "loved" China. Then I convinced him to give up on his false hopes of ever dating him. Then I fell and he caught me. Then, I think, he almost kissed before Norge came and started that fight. Then in the hospital Hong Kong told me that he liked me and he asked me on a date._

I knew that's how everything had happened, but it didn't make sense. _Within one day Hong Kong was able to get over a few years' worth of feelings and then get new ones for somebody else? I _have _to be a rebound guy! I really like Hong Kong, and I don't want to see him depressed over the whole thing with China (since it is kinda my fault that he's all upset), but I don't want him toying with my feelings like this._ I sighed as I finished my food and then stood up. I knew what had to be done, regardless of how painful it was going to be.

It took me an hour to go from the cafeteria to outside Hong Kong's dorm room. I knew I really had to talk to him, but I put it off by wandering around the school, going to the bathroom, and re-tying my shoes three times. Once I finally stood at the wooden door, I still had no words to say. _Maybe he's not here right now. Maybe he's still at breakfast!_ I thought as I stared at the door. I slowly brought my hand up and lightly tapped the one barrier that protected me from what I was about to do.

Nothing happened, so I knocked louder. My heart beat hard against my chest when I heard the sound of feet walking across the floor. "Please don't be Hong Kong," I begged under my breath. The door pulled open and I internally felt my heart fall to the floor when Hong Kong's smiling face came from behind it.

"Hey Ice! How ya feeling today?" He grinned at me, which only made me feel that much worse.

"I'm feeling fine," I said quietly. "I-I have to talk to you…" I trailed off for a moment. "I have to talk to you about our _date_," I finished.

"Yeah, sure! Why don't you come in a sit down or something? I was already trying to decide what we could do, since we can't actually leave the school and I-"

I cut Hong Kong off. "I don't want to go out with you."

Hong Kong's face dropped. He closed the door as he stepped out into the hallway. He put his hands on my upper arms and tried to look my straight in the eye, but I kept my face tilted towards the ground. "But why?! I thought… I thought you liked me too!"

"I _do_ like you, but I don't want you using me," I said. I pursed my lips and shut my eyes. _Why is he touching me like this? Why is he making this so hard for me?_ I shrugged my shoulders, but Hong Kong held them tight.

"What do you mean? Y-you think I'm _using_ you?! Why would-"

I interrupted again. "Come on Hong Kong! I know that you're upset about losing China! Obviously you're just asking me out to use me as a rebound guy! But I really like you, so I don't want you messing around with me when you don't mean it. I get it. You don't have to return these feelings of mine, but you also don't have to make a mockery of them." I felt my face flush, but I didn't care. I still had my eyes shut, refusing to see Hong Kong's expression.

"Oh. I'm sorry Iceland." Hong Kong's voice was low and sad. I finally peeked open an eye to look at him. It was Hong Kong's turn to look at the ground. His hair fell in front of his face, but I could hear the sadness in his words. He let go of my arms and let his hands just dangle at his sides. "I see what you mean. But you don't understand. I'm not upset about China. I'm relieved. I know yesterday was the day I gave up on him, but thanks to you I see how dumb I was for even trying. I should feel upset about this, but I don't. I feel like I finally let go of a heavy burden. For the longest time I've only pictured myself with China. But you made me realize that there are tons of other options out there! I can be happy without being with China. I bet this just seems dumb to you, but it's the truth. If you don't want to go on a date with me, I understand. But, can we still be friends?" He turned up to me with desperate eyes.

"O-o-of course we can be friends!" I was very flustered at this. _Is he telling the truth? Is he actually _glad_ that he's no longer in love with China?_ "I just don't understand. How can you give up on China so quickly and feel nothing?"

Hong Kong thought for a moment and smiled a bit. "I'm too young to know what love is. Maybe I didn't ever _love_ China. I just never wanted him to leave me. But he's my best friend, and now I see that that alone is enough. I shouldn't have to worry about him leaving me, because he _is_ my friend. Thanks to you, I realized that he can be in a happy relationship with someone else without completely forgetting about me. I just want him to be happy. That's what friends do; they support each other and try to make sure that they're alright. So I don't really feel like I'm giving up on him, I'm just accepting my role as his friend. I guess this is what growing up feels like."

I looked into Hong Kong's eyes, which sparkled with some sort of new resolve. "So, basically, you realized that you didn't love him and all of those years you were just his friend without knowing what that truly meant?"

"Basically!" Hong Kong said with a small smile. Then he did something unexpected; he got down on one knee in front of me and grabbed my right hand with both of his own. He cleared his throat and asked, "Iceland, would you please make me the happiest man in the world by going on a date with me?"

This uncharacteristic display threw me off, but I blinked a few times and nodded anyways. "Okay. I feel a lot better about this." I rubbed the back of my head with my free hand. "I really felt bad this morning. I honestly thought you were using me, which really hurt for some reason." I shrugged. _Gah, all of this emotional junk is wearing me out!_

"It hurt because you really like me, right?" Hong Kong smirked.

"Hmph!" I pulled my hand out of his and turned away.

As I walked down the hallway, Hong Kong called, "I'll come by your room at, like, 7:00 tonight, okay?" I nodded and waved over my shoulder. I didn't want to turn around, because I didn't want him to see how much I was blushing. _My first date! But… what should I wear?_

**A/N: Well thanks for reading this... I'll try to post sooner from now on! Again, thanks a ton to walroose, Lycoris1305, Wisely-san, xGreySkiesx, Mastication-Defenestration, and everyone else. I love you guys! THANK YOU ALL!**

**Oh yeah, and I need to really thank MoonstoneWolf for all of the reviews! (And since I can't PM you... I'll just say it here!) I've started that Prussia X Italy that you asked for, though it's kinda dark and probably not what you were expecting, but I hope to get that up soon and I hope you like it. I've never read that pairing before, so I'm not experienced, but I'm trying my hardest! Thanks~**

**Review, da?**


	21. DATE

**A/N: full note at the end. p much: I'M REALLY REALLY SORRY. and also as of right now this is going to be considered DISCONTINUED :(**

**Chapter 21: DATE**

6:32 through 6:37 – I took my second shower of the day.

6:38 through 6:45 – I put on clean clothes and I changed the bandages on my broken nose (which thankfully didn't hurt at the moment). I didn't know how fancy to be, so I put on my black school uniform pants and an un-tucked red button down shirt. I didn't know if that was appropriate, so I threw on a black tie, too. (And of course I finished this look off with my white boots, though I didn't tuck my pants into them like usual.)

6:46 through 6:48 – I made faces in the mirror, made sure there wasn't anything on my teeth, checked my breath, and smoothed out my hair.

6:49 through 7:02 – I paced my dorm room, back and forth. Greece was asleep on his bed with his eight cats.

7:03 – I had a heart attack when there was a knock on the door. After recovering myself, I opened the door to my future.

"Hey, sorry that I'm a few minutes late," Hong Kong panted. He was bent over, hands on his knees, obviously regaining his breath. He was wearing tan khakis, brown loafers, a dark gray T-shirt with a panda on it, and a navy blue blazer (much like the one in our uniform, but this one lacked the school's crest).

"It's no problem," I said coolly. "Are you okay? You look like you just ran a marathon."

"Ha, I feel like I just did, too! It took longer than I thought to get everything set up that I had to rush to get dressed and come here." Hong Kong straightened up and took a final deep breath. He let his eyes travel my body for a good ten seconds before he spoke again. "You know, you look pretty hot tonight."

I blushed. "Thanks," I said quietly. "You don't look too bad yourself."

Hong Kong smiled and reached out a hand. "Come on, let's go."

I nodded as I clasped my cold hand onto Hong Kong's warm one. He led me through the hallways of the school in silence. I grew more perplexed as we went further. _I know we can't leave the school for this date… And I don't think we're going to the cafeteria… Where is he taking me?!_

"Okay, we're here!" Hong Kong announced as we stopped outside a classroom door. It took me a moment to realize where we were. _Oh great…_

I blushed a bit as I asked, "We're having our date in Mr. N's classroom?" Hong Kong nodded.

"I've worked everything out! Mr. N helped a lot, too!"

"Oh... that was nice of him," I muttered, remembering my very vivid dream from not so long ago about Mr. N.

"It sure was!" Hong Kong beamed at me and then opened the door. "After you, babe." He winked.

7:09 - I walked into Mr. N's pitch classroom, Hong Kong right behind me. "Whooooooa," I whispered to myself. The room itself was dark except for the light coming off the single candle that was set on top of two desks pushed together. The desks had a white table cloth draped over them and the places at the two chairs were already set with fancy, gold plated, plates, red napkins, and tall, stylish, wine glasses. The desk chairs that were at our table had comfy looking cushions placed on them, and I could hear very faint music playing from one of the classroom's corners.

7:10 - After I took in the setting, Hong Kong pulled out a chair and invited me to sit down. I appreciated the gesture and just tried to follow along with the romantic atmosphere. _I've never been on a date... I hope I don't do anything stupid!_

"Relax, no need to look so worried!" Hong Kong said nervously as he sat at his own chair.

I was about to ask Hong Kong how we were going to be fed if he was also sitting down, since I figured he was the one who knew where the food was, when a familiar voice suddenly came out of the darkness. "Hello, my name is Mr. N, and I will be your waiter tonight." Mr. N appeared in the candle's light, holding a pitcher of sparkling water (at least that's what I assumed it was). He smiled at me kindly and then filled the two wine glasses on the table. "Tonight we have a lovely three-course meal planned out for you two. Are you ready to start off with your refreshing salads?"

Hong Kong looked at me expectantly, and so I just nodded. "Very well, I shall be back in just a moment." Mr. N walked off to one of the doors that's connected to the classroom. When the door opened there was a bright flash of light, and in that quick instant, I was able to see that Mr. N had gone all the way to dress in a full waiter's outfit: white button-down shirt, black dress-pants, black bow tie, black shoes, black apron that hung to his knees, and he had even gelled his spiky hair so that it was flat against his head.

"So? What do you think?" Hong Kong asked quitely. I could tell he was really nervous that I wouldn't appreciate everything that he'd done, so I wanted to assure him that I loved all of the effort he had put into this.

"This is amazing! I can't believe you did all of this just for me. Like... I'm not worth all of this effort!" I joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Are you kidding? Ice, I'm willing to do anything to make you happy!"

Hong Kong's words hung in the air for a moment. My eyes widened and Hong Kong himself looked shocked for what he had said. I heard him gulp loudly, clearly uncomfortable with how this was going.

Just then, thankfully, the blinding flash of the door opening distracted us from our awkwardness. "Here you go, a fresh garden salad with a light vinaigrette dressing. Please enjoy." Just like that he disappeared through the bright light yet again.

7:14 - Hong Kong and I begin to eat on our first date. The salad was quite tasty, but the conversation we had was slightly awkward, as we got adjusted to the situation we were in.

7:20 - Mr. N returns and takes away our empty salad bowls. "I will be back in just a minute with your main course," he said in a sing-song voice.

"Okay, and thank you again, Mr. N," Hong Kong said. Mr. N nodded as he went to the room next door, where he was somehow keeping our food.

"Oh yeah... how _did_ you get Mr. N to help you with this?" I asked in my usual dry voice. This had been bothering me since the evening began, and I felt like this was an alright time to pose my question.

"Er... well I kind of went to Mr. N to talk about... _us_... you know... after everything we've been through. And well, this afternoon I asked him what I could do to have a proper date within the school, and he said that he'd help me do something like this. I think he just feels bad about what happened with you and your nose..." Hong Kong trailed off as he finally lifted his eyes for the first time since we sat down to look at me directly. Our eyes connected and lingered for a moment.

"Well, that was really nice of him... I just hope he doesn't say anything to anyone. I don't want the other students to know about this..." I said a bit angrily. _That would be _too_ embarrassing!_

"I don't think we'll have to worry about that, Mr. N is actually a really nice guy," Hong Kong said surely.

7:22 - "Yes, yes I am," Mr. N said jokingly as he entered back into the room with two plates full of food. He placed them onto our table, bowed slightly, and then walked away. I watched him disappear into the white light of the next room before I turned my attention to my food. It appeared that Hong Kong had done his homework on my homeland, because our plates were filled with smoked mutton, potatoes, peas, and thinly sliced bread; a typical Icelandic dish. I have no clue how they were able to prepare all of this under such short notice, but I was thoroughly impressed.

"Wow! I can't believe you made hangikjöt! I haven't had this is so long!" I was showing a surprising amount of emotion this evening, which was quite concerning to me, so I tried to catch myself, forcing my small smile into a tiny frown.

"Well I hope it tastes good," Hong Kong laughed nervously. He glanced at his plate, looking terrified. Obviously he'd never eaten proper Icelandic cuisine before.

7:23 - Hong Kong stared at me intensely as I cut off a bite sized piece of lamb and put it into my mouth. I chewed slowly, savoring the taste that brought me back to my childhood. "It's amazing," I whispered. Hong Kong's eyes lit up at this, clearly pleased that I deemed this food worthy.

"I'm so glad! I-"

But I cut him off. "My mother used to make a dish like this every year on Christmas..." I trailed off, staring at my food with a sad expression now residing on my face. Hong Kong's face fell and I suddenly felt bad. _Hong Kong's worked really hard putting this date together, I don't want to mess it up by bringing up..._ "But this is really good! Not as good as her's, but still really tasty! Do... you like it?" I forced on a smile and I spoke it an obnoxiously happy voice.

Hong Kong's face told me that he didn't believe me, but that he was also willing to accept my fake happiness for the evening so that we could have a nice date. But I knew that he was going to bring it back up some time soon.

"Yeah I think it's tasty!" he said after sampling a small bite.

I just nodded and continued to eat my dinner. We stayed pretty quiet as we ate, but we were both comfortable with the only conversation being the sounds our silverware made against the plates.

7:45 - Mr. N collected our empty plates and swiftly returned bearing a single plate that was covered in chocolate-dipped strawberries.

"This has been a really nice evening," I quietly said as we ate the delicate fruits. I had been pleasantly surprised as to how happy I'd been with the entire date.

"I'm glad that you've enjoyed it," Hong Kong said with a warm smile.

We finished our dessert and Mr. N immediately swooped in to collect the dirty dish. "I hope you two have a pleasant end to your evening," he said with a slight bow.

I cocked my head to the side. "Don't you want help cleaning everything up or...?" I asked, trailing off.

Mr. N just winked and replied, "No, I'm fine. You two go off, now."

We thanked our teacher one more time as the two of us left the classroom. Once we were back in the hallway, Hong Kong lightly grabbed a hold of my hand. I blushed but didn't say anything. We silently walked back to my room. "Thank you," was all I could manage to say. I had so many emotions and thoughts at the moment, that a simple thanks seemed like the most appropriate thing to say.

"No, thank you, you gave me a chance and I couldn't be happier." Suddenly Hong Kong leaned in and pecked a swift kiss to me cheek. But, before he could get any reaction from me, he ran down the hall and out of sight.

Blushing, I went into my room. _Maybe dates aren't so bad after all._

**A/N: alright. so I have 0 excuses. I'm so sorry. I know I'm a sucky author for leaving you guys for so long. to anyone who's been sticking to this THANK YOU and I'm just sorry. this pairing holds a special place in my heart, but I just don't have the motivation or ideas that I once did to make this story into what I'd originally wanted. so as of right now, please consider this discontinued (though I'm not going to label it as completed). maybe some day I'll get the urge to properly finish this... but yeah. this is the part where I want to thank each and every one of you guys who's even bothered to regard my story. I'm so thankful to have such kind and loyal readers, and I'm really just a piece of trash for leaving you for 2 stinkin years just to add this lil thing and call it quits. you guys rock and deserve better! so thank you thank you THANK YOU everyone! if I could I'd individually name each of you and give a personal thanks. if you ever really want to contact me my tumblr is on my profile, and I 100% will write any prompts or whatever that you want to send. so thank you everyone, I love you all, I don't deserve you, I'm sorry, and I hope that someday I can make this up to you people. -theticktalks**


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